THANK YOU! Chocolate-Cinnamon Pie

THANK YOU! Chocolate-Cinnamon Pie

           w/ cinnamon whipped cream

Moving…I have to say, tops the list as one of the worst activities we have to do!  Yet we all have to do it at some point in our lives.  This time, it was my turn …. trust me when I say I hope I never have to move again.  Oh yes, I took time off work, I labeled boxes and organized as quickly as I could, but there are still missing boxes and broken glasses….and my back is killing me. But on the bright side …. I love my new house! 

One of the things about cooking is that most of us are inspired by our kitchen.  I have to admit, my last kitchen didn’t do much to inspire me, but I was still able to create some amazing desserts and savory dishes. Well, now I have a kitchen that is a little bigger with a whole lot of natural light! I love it!!!  So, the first creation from my new kitchen will be a “thank you for helping us move peeps”.   I thanked them the only way I know how - I baked J!  

I have been wanting to make a chocolate pie ever since watching Minny dish up her famous chocolate pie in ‘The Help’.  Well …. maybe not Minny’s “special pie”, but certainly Minny’s award-winning pie!  I gave my Chocolate pie a little Mexican twist by adding what I consider to be chocolate’s best spice compliment -  Cinnamon!  I had always wondered about the Chocolate pie and let me tell you… it was delicious and super easy to make.  The cinnamon whipped cream just finished off the amazing flavors.  I hope you all give this recipe a try.   Maybe you need to do some “thank you baking” too. 

Happy Cooking everyone!

          Ingredients

PIE
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1 pre-made pie crust

1 ¼ sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 tablespoon flour

½ teaspoon cinnamon

4 tablespoons melted butter

2 beaten eggs

¾ cup evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed milk)

¼ cup half and half

1 teaspoon vanilla

WHIPPED CREAM

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1 cup whipping cream

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons powder sugar

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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Lay pie dough over a 9 inch pie pan. Crimp the edges.  Poke bottom with a fork, about 4 times.

3. Line the crust with foil, adding weights to hold it down. While many people use dried beans - I actually had some rocks that worked perfectly.

4. Bake for 15 minutes with the weights, then remove pan from oven. Remove the foil and weights, being careful not to burn yourself.

5. Put the crust back into the oven and bake for 5 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside.

6. For the filling: combine sugar, cocoa, flour and cinnamon in a large bowl. Mix well.  Make a well in the center of the dry mix and set aside.

7. In a separate bowl, combine butter, beaten eggs, evaporated milk, half and half and vanilla.  Mix with a whisk until all the ingredients are well incorporated.

8. Pour the wet ingredients into the ‘well’ of the dry ingredients.  Using a large spoon, mix until smooth.

                              (Chocolate goodness!!!!)

9. Pour chocolate mixture into the pie crust and bake for 50-60 minutes.  The sides should be set but the middle will wiggle a little bit - that’s OK.

10. Remove from oven and set aside until completely cool. (approx. 1-2 hours).

  

11. Once the pie is cool,  you can make the whipped cream.  Combine whipping cream till it is soft peaks.   Add cinnamon and vanilla.  Beat at medium to high speed, until stiff peaks form.

12. Top pie with the cinnamon whipped cream. Refrigerate overnight.

 

 

It’s worth the wait!!! Delicious!

You know its good, when you left with only one piece and you just made the pie :-)