Chocolate Pumpkin Pie with Hazelnut Crumble

Is it still appropriate to make and eat pumpkin pies?  I think so.  I believe pumpkin is a winter vegetable.  I'm a big fan of pumpkin anyway, and I think it should be eaten more regularly.

I made this yummy pie with my sister.  It was her idea to use hazelnuts instead of pecans.  Impressively, my parents had both types of nuts.  After we made this pie, my sister pained Christmas trees and candy canes on my toe nails.   She's an artist!

Pumpkins are a squash.  They are also indigenous to North America.  The older pumpkin seeds were found in modern day Mexico.  They date back to between 7000 and 5500 BC.  The English word pumpkin comes from the Greek word pepon, which means large melon. 

Antartica is the only continent unable to grow pumpkins.  The United States, Canada, Mexico, India, and China  are the biggest international producers of pumpkins.  In the United States, 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkin are grown annually.

The chocolate pumpkin pie recipe came from Michael Symon.  The crumble topping came from Food Network.  We used hazelnuts instead of pecans.

The ingredients for the chocolate pumpkin pie are 1 pie crust, 9 ounces semisweet chocolate, 4 tablespoon butter, 14 ounces canned pumpkin pie puree, 12 ounces evaporated milk, 3/4 cup packed brown sugar, 3 large eggs, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, pinch ground cloves, and pinch salt.  The ingredients for the hazelnut crumble are 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts, 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, and 3 tablespoons butter.

 We first added the butter and chocolate into a saucepan and melted them together over low heat.

I added the eggs, evaporated milk, packed brown sugar,  vanilla, cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt into a bowl.

I mixed these ingredients together until combined.

I folded in the melted chocolate.

I placed the pie crust into a nine inch pie crust.  I created a flutter edge with my fingers and docked the bottom of the crust with a fork.  I baked the curst for 15 minutes at 425 degrees.  We filled the center of the crust with pie weights.  After 15 minutes, we removed the weights and added the pumpkin filling.  We baked the pie for 30 minutes at 325 degrees.

We roasted the hazelnuts at 400 degrees for seven to ten minutes.  While the hazelnuts were warm, we rubbed of their shells.

For the crumble topping, we added the flour, brown sugar, and butter into a bowl.  We crumbled these ingredients together until.  We chopped the hazelnuts and stirred them into the crumble.

We sprinkled on the crumble mixture and baked the pie for another 24 to 30 minutes.

We had a little extra filling and crumble, so we made a couple of mini pies.

We let the pies cool completely before digging it.  These were scrumptious pies.  The crumble was buttery, sweet, and caramelized. 

 The filling was custardy and smooth.  It had a velvety texture.

 It had a strong pumpkin flavor.  You could also taste the warm and inviting spices.

The chocolate was present but a little to light for my preference.  I like a dark and deep chocolate taste.  The chocolate and hazelnut were a excellent combination.  It was delicious even though the chocolate flavor was too subtle.