Yield: Makes 1 9-inch pie, serving 8 to 10
Cook’s notes: For this pie, I suggest salted nuts, but unsalted will do. Chop them just a bit, to better distribute the nuts in the filling. This pie is so easy to throw together, you have no excuse for not making a homemade crust. As a lifelong crust-lover, I beg you, please don’t use those nasty refrigerated crusts! If you absolutely can’t bring yourself to make one (come on, get over that fear; pie crust is easy), buy a good-quality frozen one, such as those sold at Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods.
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/3 cups barely chopped roasted cashews (salted or unsalted)
1 9-inch, unbaked pie shell
3 large eggs
3/4 cup light corn syrup
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons (4 1/2 teaspoons) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons rum (bourbon also works well)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the chocolate chips, then the cashews, in the pie shell.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, corn syrup and butter. Whisk in granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, flour, vanilla, and rum. Pour into pie shell, moving the cashews around a bit if needed to distribute them evenly.
Bake for about 50 minutes, until center is just set when pie is gently shaken. It will firm up a bit more as it cools. If crust begins to get too dark, cover it loosely with foil. Cool on a wire rack; serve warm or at room temperature. Loosely cover any leftover pie.
