Nights are getting cooler, leaves are changing colors, and thoughts move to Thanksgiving, Christmas, pumpkin spice, and everything nice. As summer started drifting to fall, I found myself the beneficiary of 20 pounds of walnuts. Now, what to do with walnuts. I like them, sure, but that is a LOT of nuts.
Serve alone, with ice cream, with whipped cream, or as Ellie likes it, just eat with two fingers in the front seat of the car.
Did you know you can sub them for pecans in a pie? Turns out, you can. Oh, and walnuts are great in fudge. I feel a plan forming.
First of all, decide on your pie crust. There are a bunch of pre-made crusts out there. Grab one, or make your own. The crust is important, but it isn't important enough to stop you from making this yummilcious treat. Grab one from the dairy counter or freezer section and hammer away... cracking the nuts, that is.
9-inch pie crust
1 1/2 cups chopped, roasted nuts
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup dark Karo syrup
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract or paste
10-ounce bag of dark chocolate chips
Are you ready, my pretties? Let's start the party.
Rough chop walnuts into bite-size pieces. They don't have to be uniform. Make some small, some tall, just get a mix of them all. Toss them into a 350-degree oven for seven-ten minutes. I put them in a cast-iron skillet to roast up while I preheat the oven. Roasting the nuts releases the oils and brings out the deep flavor they have.
Pour the nuts into the bottom of your prepared pie crust and level them out. Don't worry. They will float and mix in with the fudgy custard that comes next.
Pour all but one cup of the dark chocolate chips over the top of the roasted nuts. This will add a new texture to each bite. You'll have creamy fudge, chewy nuts, and a bite of dark chocolate.
Let's make some custard! In a microwave-safe bowl, add the reserved chocolate chips and the butter. Microwave on 20-second blasts until melted. Don't worry about melting it perfectly. Some lumps are ok. Go slow and stir between each time. You don't want to burn the chocolate. In another bowl, mix two eggs, both sugars, Karo syrup, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla. Mix until thoroughly combined. You can do this by hand if your brown sugar is soft. Or, you can use a mixer. My kitchen is my gym... I went by hand. Stir in the melted chips, mixing thoroughly.
Pour the fudgy custard into your pie crust. You might want to have this already on a baking sheet. That is a mess saver when you want to move it into the oven. Lessons learned... new or the same one with each pie :)
Bake for 30-45 minutes, until the outside is set and the center is still jiggly. The pie will finish setting up as it cools.
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