Nutella Chocolate Chip Pie

Last month, my home community had a "childhood favorites" potluck. The house was filled with mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese with cut-up hot dogs, and Nutella.

Now, I never liked Nutella as a child. We were strictly a peanut butter family, but this "weird" brown spread showed up at friends' houses after school. I thought it was gross.

Thankfully, as I grew up, I came around to this delicious hazelnut chocolate spread. And, even though I didn't like it as a kid, I still deemed a Nutella dessert appropriate for the theme "childhood favorites." I am certain I was the anomaly.

So, here we have Nutella Chocolate Chip Pie. This cream cheese-based pie has a buttery chocolate chip cookie and hazelnut crust and is topped with fresh whipped cream. It's good. It's really good. And I'd like to think that even my 8-year-old self wouldn't have been able to resist it.

Nutella Chocolate Chip Pie
makes one 9" pie

1/2 cup hazelnuts
6 oz gluten-free chocolate chip cookies
3 tablespoons butter, melted

2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup granulated sugar
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup nutella
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

For the crust, place the hazelnuts and cookies in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the butter and pulse a few more times until the mixture comes together. Press crust into a standard pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

For the filling, whip together the heavy cream, vanilla, and granulated sugar to stiff peaks. Set aside.

In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth, about 2 or 3 minutes. Add the Nutella and mix together. Add powdered sugar and salt and mix just until combined. Scrape down bowl well. Add half of the reserved whipped cream to the mixer and mix briefly on low speed, just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spread mixture into prepared pie crust and smooth the top. Top the pie with the remaining reserved whipped cream and serve.