Hazelnut and Chocolate Pie

I wasn't initially going to post this, the first time I made it I wasn't super impressed with it. It was good, but not great. But then I made it following suggestions from Food Network's reviews (it's a Giada recipe, surprise surprise) and it's so much better. It's rich and easy to make. The only pricey thing is the hazelnuts, I found a bag at Trader Joe's for $5.99 but I've made it twice and only used half the bag, so it really isn't all that pricey. If you can't find hazelnuts I'm sure you could use a different nut but I can't guarantee how it will turn out. To toast the hazelnuts, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place on a baking sheet for about 10-12 minutes. Wrap immediately in a kitchen towel and let steam for about 1 minute, then let cool. Once cool, you rub them in the towel and the skin is supposed to come off. Mine didn't all come off, but it isn't a big deal.

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (I was more generous, I maybe added 1 1/2 cups total)

1 cup hazelnuts, skinned and toasted

1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more to dust the pie dish

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup hot water

4 eggs

1 stick butter, cut into 3/4-inch pieces, at room temperature, plus more to grease the pie dish

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

I also added 2 Tbsp chocolate syrup

Put 1/2 of the chocolate chips, hazelnuts, and flour in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the hazelnuts are coarsely chopped. Pour the hazelnut mixture into a small bowl and set aside. Combine remaining chocolate chips and sugar in the food processor. Blend until the mixture is finely ground. With the machine running, gradually add the hot water until the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Add the eggs, butter, vanilla and cinnamon (and chocolate syrup). Pulse until mixture is blended. Return the hazelnut mixture to the food processor and pulse to incorporate. Pour the mixture into a buttered and floured 9-inch pie dish. Bake for 35 minutes. Place the pie on a cooling rack and cool for 1 hour. (Top may crack during cooling.) Refrigerate for 2 hours. (Pie can be made 1 day in advance and stored in the refrigerator). Allow the pie to return to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

The recipe also supplies a recipe for whipping cream for this dish. I made it, but you can use Cool Whip, it isn't too different.

1 cup heavy cream

2 Tbsp powdered sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream until it forms soft peaks. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Continue to beat until cream holds stiff peaks.

**Funny story, when I made this the first time I made it for the elders who were coming over for dessert. I eyeballed the ingredients for the whipped topping because I was in a hurry and I was using pure vanilla extract (my sister-in-law bought this for me, I've never used anything except imitation vanilla). I accidently poured more than I should have into the whipped cream but figured it would just be extra vanilla-y. I didn't know that the pure vanilla extract contained 35% alcohol...needless to say the whipped topping had that alcohol taste to it. And not only did I feed it to the elders, but I let my kids eat it like it was ice cream! I'm going to hell... =)