Brownie Walnut Pie

This dessert is lovingly executed following the recipe of Giada de Laurentiis

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter cut up into small pieces

3 oz unsweetened semi-sweet chocolate chopped (I used Ghirardelli)

3 eggs

1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar light brown sugar

3/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup walnuts broken up

walnuts for decoration

Biscotti Crust:

8 biscotti coarsely broken

8 tablespoons unsalted butter chilled and diced

1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar light brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Blend the biscotti, butter and sugar in a food processor until the crumbs are moist and stick together when pressed. Firmly press the crumb mixture over the bottom and up the sides of a pie dish, building up a high rim. Bake the crust until golden and feels firm to the touch for about 15 minutes. Cool the crust completely.

Whisk the butter and the chocolate over low heat in a heavy medium saucepan until the chocolate is almost melted. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk until the chocolate is fully melted and the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the sugar, then the eggs, one at a time. Fold in the flour and salt with a flexible rubber spatula. Stir in the nut pieces. Scrape the batter into the prepared Biscotti Crumb Crust. Decorate with walnuts.

Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake until the outer 2 to 3 inches are slightly puffed and dry looking and the center is set, 35 minutes.  Cool the pie completely on a rack.

Notes:

This recipe was made for my friends at Fashion GPS who will determine its fate as a success or failure.

Tweaks:

The only things I tweaked were the sugar and the chocolate.  I already have 3 kinds of sugar in my cabinet and dark brown sugar is not one of them.  I refuse to buy more. 

And I couldn’t find unsweetened chocolate.

Cheats:

This whole post is a pretty much a cheat against the nature of this bog.  One big (credit-given) hack of a cheat because I (practically) didn’t change a thing (except that I added the über crucial Ghirardelli choco-star in the middle).

Verdict:TBD

Verdict: Success

Definitely Neighbor-worthy

Do you want to be on the mailing list or have recipes you want to share with me?  Contact me at themaniccheater@gmail.com.