HAZELNUT-CHIP PIE

 CHOCOLATE CHIP HAZELNUT PIE

I went baking-book happy at Border's this past week. I met a friend for dinner Thursday night and she was running a few minutes late. To my surprise, Border's was located directly above the restaurant so I hit up the baking aisle immediately. I left there 5 books deep and $100.00 poorer. So it goes...One of the many books I purchased was The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook by Elinor Klivans. I have a few other books by this author including Big Fat Cookies and Cupcakes! She is totally awesome. Her books offer gorgeous photos, tempting recipes with wonderful flavors, and in depth explanations/directions for each recipe. Every recipe I've made from these books have come out perfectly and delicious. 

The first recipe I made from this book was a chocolate chip hazelnut pie. This pie was fabulous. I haven't gotten the opportunity to work with hazelnuts very often, but let me tell you, that notion has officially changed. Hazelnuts rock. They offer a rich nutty flavor and, in this recipe's case, when bound with a spice such as cinnamon, the flavor is even more potent.  This pie was super easy. The dough took about 10 minutes to make (food processor included) and the "filling" consists of only chocolate chips. The top is then latticed and you bake it for about 35 minutes. The end result was a crumbly cookie type texture with gooey chocolate chips inside. I would definitely make this again as it was simple, tasty, and not overly rich. This would be so good with coffee ice cream.  I'll post the recipe later today...