Chocolate-Eggnog Swirl Pie

So. much. baking. I finally got my wish to bake more... gotta love the holidays! I've been making something or other pretty much every night for over a week now. Parties at my mom's work, cookies for gifts, cookies for us, goodies for my mom's students.... Now Christmas dinners are coming up and I will be dessert man. I'm pretty much in heaven, to be honest. I also have lots of recipes for my blog, so I think this is officially a cooking blog... with some life drama and theatre thrown in.

I finished up my Christmas cookies last night! We now have Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs, Lemon Creme Sandwich Cookies, White Chocolate-Cherry Shortbread, Brown Sugar Cookies, Peanut Butter Bites, and a few Chocolate-Covered Oreos. I also did some Cinnamon-Sugar Glazed Almonds, and Irish Cream Truffles. (Well... the truffles still need rolled and coated, but the hard part is done!)

Let's talk about this Chocolate-Eggnog Swirl Pie.



I made it for my mom to take to a work party. The same party that she took the Glazed Doughnut Bread Pudding to. I totally spoil those teachers.

There was one slice left when she came home, so I got to try it. It was pretty delicious. I think the crust was the best part, really. It's nutty and chocolatey and crunchy. Mmm. The filling was amazing, too, but that crust was life-changing. (Ok, probably not really, but it was darn good.)

Chocolate-Eggnog Swirl Pie


Ingredients
Crust:
1 C. flour
3/4 C. finely chopped walnuts
1/4 C. packed brown sugar
1 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, grated
1/3 C. butter, melted
Filling:
1 envelope unflavored gelatin (like Knox)
1/4 C. cold water
1/2 C. granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 C. dairy eggnog
1 1/2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted
2 Tbsp. clear rum
1 C. whipping cream, whipped

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. For the crust, combine flour, nuts, brown sugar, and grated chocolate in a medium bowl. Stir in the melted butter. Press into a 9" pie plate. Bake for 12 minutes. (Do not overbake!) Cool completely.

For the filling, stir gelatin into the cold water and set aside. In a saucepan, combine the granulated sugar and cornstarch. (Make sure the cornstarch is incorporated into the sugar, or you will get lumps!) Stir in the eggnog. Cook and stir over medium to medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly, then continue to cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in gelatin mixture until dissolved. Remove from heat.

Divide the filling into two equal portions. To one portion, add the melted chocolate and mix well. To the second portion, add the rum and mix well. Cover surfaces of both portions with plastic wrap, making sure the wrap is flat against the surface. (This prevents a skin forming on the top as it cools.) Allow filling to cool for two hours.

After two hours, fold the whipped cream into the filling portion with rum. Spoon into the crust. Spoon the chocolate portion on top and swirl the two portions together with a knife. Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight before serving.



Now, some notes on the one that I made. First of all, you can tell I was kind of bad at the swirling thing. The picture with the original recipe was much prettier. I think it just takes practice. The other thing is, make sure you mix your cornstarch in with the sugar before adding the eggnog. I had a million little lumps in my filling that I couldn't get out!

It was a super-delicious pie, though, and perfect for the holidays!!

Enjoy!