Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

Adapted from Michael Symon's recipe as seen on abc's "The Chew"

My friend, Kristy, saw this on "The Chew" and sent me the link in an email with the words, "make this."

So I did.

I'm a HUGE pumpkin pie fan.

I'm also a chocolate fan.

Why not put the two together?

I used my own pie crust recipe, but added about a 1/2 TBSP of granulated sugar to offset the bitterness of the chocolate.

Click here for my "Easier-Than-Pie-Homemade-Pie-Crust" recipe

You can make your own pie crust, make Michael Symon's, or use store-bought.

So I'm going to skip that part of the recipe.

Ingredients:

6 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped

(I used my ever faithful mini chips)

3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

15 oz. can pureed pumpkin

12 oz. can evaporated milk

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1 TBSP cornstarch

4 TBSP unsalted butter (cut into small pieces)

3 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

3/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

This part was a bit strange to me. When I make pumpkin pie, I NEVER pre-bake the crust. I was skeptical, but it only calls for 15 min of pre-baking, so I did it.

Press pie crust into pie pan.

Cover pie crust with wax paper.

Now, if you pre-bake the crust without any weight, it'll bubble up.

There are these nifty little marble-like things called pie weights

I don't own them.

So I used beans.

Seriously. I googled it.

A whole bag of pinto beans cost about $1.00. I used as much as I needed for the pie, and I still have some leftover. I keep my "pie beans" in a container labeled "PIE BEANS" so that I don't try boiling them. I can use them again and again. A cheaper alternative to pie weights.

Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes.

While that's baking, let's start on the pie filling.

In a double boiler (or a metal bowl resting on a small pan of boiling water) melt your chocolates and butter stirring constantly until smooth.

Remove from heat.

Your pie crust is probably done by now. Take it out of the oven, remove wax paper and pour beans into container to be used again.

Reduce oven temperature to 325 F.

Let's finish the filling.

In a large bowl, or stand mixer, combine remaining ingredients. Beat until smooth.

Fold in chocolate mixture and pour into pie pan

(I had about a cup and a half of leftover filling, plus I overfilled it)

Put on pie crust shield if you have one, or just use aluminum foil so your edges don't get too dark. (I got my shield for $4 at Macy's!)

Put on baking sheet (in case of spills) and bake at 325 F for about 45 minutes or until center of pie has set.

(I told you I overfilled mine!)

Let cool, then refrigerate until ready to eat!

This pie is delicious.

I think I was expecting a classic pumpkin pie with a hint of chocolate.

This tastes more like a chocolate pie with a hint of pumpkin.

I tried this the day I baked it and was like "It's good, but I probably won't make it for the holidays"

But then I had a piece the next day and was like OH MY SOUL THIS PIE IS DELICIOUS!!!

Definitely make this a day ahead. Mmmm....I need another piece...