Chocolate Chip Cookie Nutella Pie

I can’t wait for winter to come. Although I had learned to live in peace with the hot summer days (not including terrible and oh-so-humid August in Tel-Aviv), I was always a winter person. The cool days, the veils and the warm clothes were always my favorite, even as a child.

This winter refuses to arrive. December is around the corner and yet I still wear T-shirts and tank tops most of the time. Although in the evenings it gets a bit cooler – the days still feel warm and spring-like, not exactly what I would expect in late November. I want to feel some rain, listen to the thunder and watch the lightning dazzling in the sky. I want to wake up in the morning and steal a few more warm minutes in my cozy bed – this is winter for me.

In the winter I also tend to bake a lot more, and although the hours of light are shorter and that makes it harder in photo-shoot days – I love to photograph in the soft, mellow light of rainy days. Nevertheless – on sunny days I certainly can’t complain 😉 But come on already – I need my winter!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Nutella Pie.

What else has not been written about chocolate chip cookies? They are the most popular cookies in the jar, I don’t know many people who dislike them, and they are simply delicious in every situation and every opportunity.

This next pie recipe takes these cookies one step up – golden and crunchy chocolate chip cookie crust filled with dark chocolate and Nutella ganache, mounds of Nutella whipped cream and chocolate chip cookies for decoration. Love chocolate chip cookies? This Nutella pie is just what you need!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Nutella Pie

24 cm round pie pan or baking ring

For chocolate chip cookie crust (and cookies):
240 grams (1 cup) dark brown sugar
200 grams soft butter
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
280 grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
75 grams (3/4 cup) almond meal
250 grams dark or milk chocolate chips

For dark chocolate and Nutella ganache:
250 ml. (1 cup) whipping cream
200 grams dark chocolate
60 grams (3 tbsp.) Nutella

For Nutella whipped cream:
125 ml. (1/2 cup) whipping cream, very cold
20 grams (2 tbsp.) instant vanilla pudding powder or cream stabilizer
40 grams (2 tbsp.) Nutella

For decoration:
Caramelized hazelnut bits

Preparation:

1. Grease the pan well with soft butter or oil.
2. In a mixer bowl with a paddle attachment, mix dark brown sugar, butter, salt and vanilla until you get a very airy and creamy mixture.
3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl using a spatula and add the eggs one after the other, mixing between additions until fully assimilated in the mixture. Continue to mix for about 2 minutes on medium-high speed.
4. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, almond meal and chocolate chips, and mix until large chunks of dough form.
5. Transfer about 2/3 of the dough into the baking pan and press firmly to the sides and base forming a pie crust. If the dough is too sticky, you can wet your hands a little or cool the dough for a few minutes in the refrigerator.
6. Freeze the crust for about 15 minutes before baking.
7. Preheat the oven to 170c degrees.
8. Bake the crust for about 10 minutes until it begins to set. Remove from the oven and, using a bottom of a measuring cup, press down the base, which should be slightly inflated in the baking pan, in order to flatten it and keep the low center of the crust.
9. Return the crust to the oven for another 7-10 minutes until golden.
10. Remove from oven, cool completely at room temperature.
11. With the remaining 1/3 of the dough, make small chocolate chip cookies and place them in increments on a baking pan lined with baking paper.
12. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until the cookies brown and set.
13. Cool completely and keep in a closed container until decoration.
14. Chocolate Nutella ganache: heat the cream in a small pot to simmering point.
15. Add in chocolate and Nutella, wait about a minute and whisk until you get a uniform shiny ganache.
16. Pour the ganache into the baked cookie crust and straighten the top.
17. Cool the pie for about an hour in the refrigerator until the ganache layer sets.
18. Nutella whipped cream: in a mixer bowl whip cream, instant pudding and Nutella until you get a uniform and stable Nutella whipped cream.
19. Transfer the cream into a piping bag fitted with a 2 cm serrated piping tip and drizzle mounds of cream in the edge of the top of the pie.
20. Garnish with cookies and caramelized hazelnut bits and serve.

Notes:

• Keep the Nutella pie in a closed container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
• The cookies and decorations should be added before serving for ideal texture.
• It is recommended to remove the pie from the refrigerator 20-30 minutes before serving for optimal texture.