Long Distance Baking

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Barlean’s. I received free products for recipe development, however all opinions are honest and my own.

This may come as a shock to everyone, but Kelly did not make this Nutella Pie. Although maybe it’s not that surprising, because she probably would have already eaten the Nutella straight from the jar and it never would have made its way into the pie. But I digress.

Last year my parents hosted a foreign exchange student from Italy for the entire school year. Lorenzo loved most sweets, but oddly hated peanut butter. Who doesn’t like peanut butter?! He explained they eat Nutella in Italy. And if you have Nutella…you don’t need peanut butter. While I disagree, I guess I can understand that (side note: did you see that article hiring Nutella taste testers to come live in Italy??). 

When Lorenzo’s birthday rolled around, we knew we needed to have a big birthday dessert as is the American custom (much to his protesting) and remembered him mentioning Nutella Pie once upon a time. A quick google search showed this was in fact a real thing, and amazingly only required a few ingredients and minimal baking.

It’s kind of dangerous how easily and quickly this recipe comes together. The graham cracker-pretzel crust is a game changer (talk about that salty-sweet combo) and the filling is simply Nutella and mascarpone cheese. You’re 5 ingredients away from this insanely decadent pie!

While I meant to share this recipe with you ages ago, I knew it would be perfect for #Choctoberfest, our weeklong celebration of all things chocolate. I also knew when I saw this Barlean’s butter flavored coconut oil that it would perfect in the crust. I was right on both counts! I haven’t seen any other brands with butter flavored coconut oil, and you can really tell the difference here. No coconut flavor at all and smells just like butter, yet has all the health benefits of coconut oil!

My birthday is on Thanksgiving this year, and while I know we’ll already have pumpkin, apple and pecan pies…I kind of think this might be my birthday dessert of choice. It is rich without being heavy and who can turn down Nutella?!

If you haven’t entered our #Choctoberfest giveaway yet, don’t forget to do that by the end of the weekend! Included in the prize pack are more Barlean’s goodies so you don’t want to miss yout. Until then, enjoy all of the chocolate recipes by following the hashtag on social media and stick around to see what else we have to share with you.

~Stephanie

Nutella Pie (recipe adapted from Epicurious)

• 1 1/2 cups small pretzels
• 1 sleeve graham crackers
• 1/2 c melted Barlean’s Butter Flavored Coconut Oil
• 2 cups Nutella
• 8 oz mascarpone cheese
• chopped hazelnut pieces for garnish (optional: I found these at Trader Joe’s)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place pretzels and graham crackers in a food processor and pulse until fine crumbs. Slowly pour in the Barlean’s coconut oil and pulse until combined
3. Pour the crumb mixture into a 9×9 pie tin. Press the mixture evenly throughout the bottom and sides of the tin, pressing very firmly as to keep crust together.
4. Bake the crust for 10 minutes then remove from oven and set aside.
5. In medium mixing bowl, add the Nutella and mascarpone cheese. Beat with mixer until fluffy and fully combined.
6. Pour Nutella into pie tin and gently spread the filling evenly into crust.
7. Top with chopped hazelnut pieces if desired.
8. Refrigerate at least one hour then serve.
9. Keep covered and refrigerated.