Chocolate Chess Pie

My grandmother use to make chocolate chess pie at the holidays, because I hate nuts and would not eat pecan pie.  Any time she made any kind of dessert she would leave a corner or side nut free just for me.  After she passed away I made it my mission to make a couple of the desserts she made at least as well as she made them.  My chocolate no-bake cookies nearly always turn out perfect and my mom thinks I make them better than my grandmother.  My pineapple chess pie is the same way.  My chocolate chess pie seems to have a will of its own.  Sometimes it turns out beautiful sometimes it does not.  Generally when I make it using a kitchen aid mixer it turns out correctly, but when I make it by hand I don't tend to know till I pull it from the oven. 

During Spring Break I made the Pioneer Woman's flat apple pie, using her pie crust recipe rather than the standard recipe I had always used.  I did not have my copy of her cook book so I pulled it from the food network website.  It turned out beautifully and both my parents loved the new crust.  So today I decided I would make the pie crust and sprinkle it with sugar and cinnamon.  It is a favorite dessert in our family and we always make it with the scrap pie crust. 

When I got started I realized that the recipe in The Pioneer Woman cookbook was different from the recipe on the food network website.  I went on her blog and found the recipe she had posted and it matched the cookbook so I decided I would follow it, rather than the food network version.  I made the crust and froze the rest.  The crust tasted fine but it crumbled the second you touched it.  I ended up throwing most of it out because I could not pick it up without it falling apart. 

I decided I would try to make a pie with some of the rest of the crust.  I got it rolled out fine but it broke apart when I tried to put it in the pie pan.  I ended up reforming it inside the pan.  Then I made the filling for the pie by hand.  Even when it does not turn out right it still tastes great so I don't worry much when I am making it for myself.  The filling is perfect!!!  The crust still crumbles easily but it is easier to eat in this pie form.  I think I will be printing off the food network version of the recipe to tuck into the cookbook.  Now I just have to limit myself to one slice a day (or maybe meal). 

Another positive is that I used up several ingredients that were getting old, so I was able to clean up some containers and pick up fresh ingredients.