This pie! I was thinking about buttermilk pie, because I try to make at least one for Christmas dinner, and the idea hit me to make it chocolate, then another idea hit me of  glazing the crust in chocolate and then using chocolate dipped pecans as a garnish. The only thought of chocolate that I stopped at was the whipped cream. I thought that might have been a little much.

Why do I think of buttermilk pie so often? Here’s a little story. We had a cook and her name was Sarah. She would not let me cook while she was there because I made a mess, so I waited until she went home to go in the kitchen and make pies. That was my favorite thing to bake. I used an old Auburn cookbook that was my grandmother  Irene’s. When I finished baking a pie, I would call Mama Irene by ringing her on our crank phone. Her ring was two shorts and a long. Our ring was a short, long and a short. Mama Irene would come down the lane from her home and eat pie with me. It was our secret.

The pie that I made as a child is very similar to this one, but this is a P. Allen Smith recipe that I have “doctored”, as we say in the South. I hope you enjoy this pie. I think it’s definitely pretty enough to serve for a Southern Sunday Dinner.

Chocolate Buttermilk Pie

Bring all ingredients to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9 to 9 1/2-inch pie plate by spraying with non-stick cooking spray. Add your pie crust. I used one roll of a two roll pie crust that I purchased in the grocery store.

1 stick butter, melted and cooled

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 eggs, well beaten

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Put all dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Use a wire whisk and mix the dry ingredients. To a small bowl, add the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and butter. Mix well. Add to the dry ingredients. Continue mixing with a spoon until the butter has been incorporated into the mixture. Pour the mixture over a strainer into the pie shell. Place the pie in the oven and bake for 35 minutes or until the center of the pie is set. Remove from the oven and set aside. Note: Baking could take shorter of longer depending on your oven and the size of the pie shell.

Chocolate Glaze for the pie crust and pecans-First, toast the pecans. Place pecans on a plate and microwave for one to two minutes until pecans are toasted and crisp.To glaze the pie shell (after the pie has baked) and pecans, use 2 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate. Put 3/4 of the chocolate into a bowl, and chop the remaining chocolate and set aside. Slowly melt the chocolate in the bowl, and after it has melted add the chopped chocolate and let it melt. Mix well. Dip the ends of the pecans into the chocolate and set them on parchment paper to dry. When the pie has cooled, but before refrigerating, use a spoon and spread the chocolate on the inside of the shell.

Whipped Cream & Cream Cheese-Add 1/2 cup heavy cream and 1/2 cup whipped cream cheese in a deep bowl along with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Whip until thick enough to pipe onto the pie. Cut the cooled pie into serving pieces, pipe on a dollop of cream and garnish with a chocolate dipped pecan.