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In the Oven: Classic Diner-Style Chocolate Pie

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We’re leaving our ovens off again to make a classic chocolate pie – but it wouldn’t be a Baked pie without whiskey or malt powder (or both!). Posting date is November 17.

Classic Diner-Style Chocolate Pie
Author: Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito
Serves: 1 (9-inch ) pie
Ingredients
  • For the chocolate cookie crust
  • 30 chocolate wafer cookies (about 6 ounces)
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • For the chocolate filling
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons chocolate malt Ovaltine
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • 5 large egg yolks
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 5 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72% cacao), coarsely chopped
  • 2 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons whiskey
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • To serve
  • Whipped cream or vanilla bean whipped cream
Instructions
Make the chocolate cookie crust
  1. In a food processor, grind the cookies to a very fine powder. You should have about 1½ cups. Put the crumbs in a bowl and stir in the sugar.
  2. Pour the butter over the crumb mixture and mix until well combined. The mixture will feel wet. Turn the crumb mixture out into a 9-inch pie plate and press it into the bottom and up the sides. You can use the back of a large spoon to even out the crust.
  3. Freeze the crust while you make the filling.
Make the chocolate filling
  1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, Ovaltine, salt, and cornstarch. Add the egg yolks and whisk until combined. The mixture will look like a thick paste. Slowly pour in the milk and cream, whisking constantly.
  2. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly to prevent the mixture from burning on the bottom of the pan. Boil for 30 seconds, then remove from the heat.
  3. Add the chocolates, whiskey, and vanilla and whisk until combined. Continue to whisk for a few minutes to cool the mixture slightly. Let the mixture stand for 15 minutes at room temperature. A thin skin may form during this cooling period. Simply whisk the mixture again until the skin is gone. Pour the filling into the frozen pie shell.
  4. Refrigerate the pie for 4 hours before serving, topped with whipped cream, if desired.

 

In the Oven: Peanut Butter Pie with Cookie Crust and Easy Fudge Sauce

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Next up on the schedule: a no-bake, frozen pie! Posting date is March 24.

Peanut Butter Pie with Cookie Crust and Easy Fudge Sauce
Author: Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito
Serves: One 9-inch pie
Ingredients
  • For the chocolate cookie crust
  • 30 chocolate wafer cookies (about 6 ounces)
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • For the peanut butter filling with chocolate bottom
  • ½ cup (3 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
  • ½ teaspoon light corn syrup
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
  • 1½ cups heavy cream
  • For the easy hot fudge sauce
  • 6 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped
  • 6 ounces dark chocolate (64% cacao), finely chopped
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ¼ cup light corn syrup
Instructions
Make the chocolate cookie crust
  1. In a food processor, grind the cookies to a very fine powder. You should have about 1½ cups. Put the crumbs in a bowl and stir in the sugar.
  2. Pour the butter over the crumb mixture and mix until well combined. The mixture will feel wet. Turn the crumb mixture out into a 9-inch pie plate and press it into the bottom and up the sides. You can use the back of a large spoon to even out the crust.
  3. Put the crust in the refrigerator while you make the filling.
Make the peanut butter filling with chocolate bottom
  1. Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave oven or in a double boiler (see page 23). Add the corn syrup and stir to combine. Use a spatula to spread the chocolate in a thin layer on the bottom of the chilled pie crust. Put the crust back in the refrigerator while you make the peanut butter filling.
  2. Put the cream cheese, peanut butter, vanilla, and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until well combined and completely smooth. Set aside.
  3. In a clean bowl, use the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment to whip the cream until soft peaks form. Remove the bowl from the mixer and, with a rubber spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture until the mixture is uniform in color.
  4. Pour the mixture into the prepared crust and freeze for at least 4 hours. Once the pie is frozen, you can cover it with aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 days.
Make the easy hot fudge sauce
  1. Place both chocolates in a medium heatproof bowl and set aside.
  2. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer over medium heat. Add the corn syrup and stir to combine. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolates. Let the mixture sit for 2 minutes. Starting in the center of the bowl and working your way out to the edges, whisk the chocolate mixture in a circle until completely smooth. The hot fudge sauce, cooled to room
  3. temperature and covered tightly, will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator. Rewarm the sauce in a microwave oven on medium heat for 30 seconds, stir, and repeat until the sauce is warm; or reheat it in a small saucepan over low heat.
  4. Place a frozen piece of pie on a large serving plate and spoon 3 heaping tablespoons of the warm sauce directly over the top of the pie. Eat and enjoy immediately.

 

In the Oven: Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie

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Time to make pies! Posting date is December 2.

Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie
Author: Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito
Serves: One 9-inch pie
Ingredients
  • 1 ball of Classic Pie Dough (½ recipe; page 94), chilled
  • 2 cups pecan halves, toasted
  • 3 large eggs
  • ¾ cup light corn syrup
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 4 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons bourbon
  • 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Dust a work surface with a sprinkling of flour. Unwrap the ball of chilled dough and put it directly on the work surface. Roll out into a 12-inch round. Transfer the dough to a pie dish and carefully work it into the pie dish, folding any overhang under and crimping the edge as you go. Wrap and freeze the crust until firm, about 2 hours, or up to 3 months.
  2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Coarsely chop ¾ cup of the pecans. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until combined. Add the corn syrup, sugars, butter, salt, vanilla, and bourbon. Whisk again until combined. Stir in the chopped pecans and set the filling aside.
  4. Spread the chocolate chips evenly along the bottom of the frozen pie shell. Slowly pour the filling on top of the chocolate chips. Arrange the remaining 1¼ cups pecan halves on top of the filling.
  5. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, then cover the edges of the crust loosely with aluminum foil and bake for another 30 minutes. Test the pie by sticking a knife in the center of the filling. If the knife comes out clean, the pie is done. If the knife comes out with clumps of filling sticking to it, bake for another 5 minutes and test again.
  6. Cool the pie on a wire rack and serve warm or at room temperature. The pie can be stored in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to 2 days.