CHOCOLATE IRISH WHISKEY PIE WITH SWEET AND SALTY OATMEAL CRUST

(Note: There are three components to this pie and if you are crunched for time, each one can stand alone. The crust can be easily filled with ice cream, (preferably coffee) and is better still, topped  off with  the Bailey's whipped cream.  The pie filling on its own can be poured into ramekins and served  with a thimbleful of your favorite Irish beverage or an Irish coffee. Or both.  Collectively, the pie is as celebratory as any parade, regardless of the weather.)


Oatmeal Cookie Pretzel Crust
 
Makes one 9” pie crust or 10” tart shell

​5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup rolled oats
3 ounces coarsely crushed thin pretzels
¼ cup King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour 
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
generous pinch of kosher salt
1 egg, beaten with a fork
2 oz. chocolate chips

Lightly butter your pie plate or tart pan. In bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine butter and brown sugar. Beat until well combined, then add oats, pretzels, flour and the walnuts. With mixer on low, add beaten egg, then chocolate chips. Turn dough out onto plastic wrap; it will be crumbly. Measure out one cup of the crust mixture and set aside. (You can use that to fill a personal pie plate, 5.5" or put it in a zip loc bag and freeze it for another use.)  The remainder should weigh about 12 ounces, enough to line either a 9" pie plate or a 10" tart pan with removable bottom. Pat the dough into the bottom of your pan and up the sides. Then place the pie plate or tart pan in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm up. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. When dough is chilled, line it with parchment and beans and blind bake for about 25-30 minutes, until set. Then remove the parchment and beans and bake it another 10 minutes or so until it is firm. Set aside to cool completely while you prepare the filling. (Don't forget to turn the oven off.)

Chocolate Irish Whiskey Pie Filling

7 large egg yolks
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 and 1/4 cups half & half
8 oz. dark chocolate (I used Trader Joe's 60%) chopped 
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
4 Tablespoons Jameson Irish Whiskey

In the top of a double boiler, whisk together the sugars and cornstarch, then egg yolks, whisking until smooth. Gradually add the half & half. Set over simmering water whisking frequently until very thick, about 8-10 minutes. Remove pan from over double boiler and add chocolate, whisking until chocolate is thoroughly melted. Add butter, whisk to combine, then strain through a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap pressed directly on filling to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cold, then gently fold in whiskey. Filling can now be poured into the cooled crust. Place plastic wrap over pie and chill until firm. Before serving, garnish the pie with the Bailey's whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Bailey's Coffee Whipped Cream
 
1 pint heavy cream
1 Tablespoon Medaglia d'Oro instant espresso coffee 
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 cup Bailey's Irish Cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
chocolate shavings, to garnish

It really does speed things along if you chill the bowl and the whisk attachment. Combine the heavy cream and instant espresso in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. (Or you can use a hand-held mixer; it will just take longer. That's always a problem for me because I'm generally due at someone's home with said dessert about the time I start to whip the cream...) You want the instant espresso to dissolve in the cream just a bit before you start to whip it. With the mixer going at medium speed, whip the cream until it starts to thicken. Gradually add the confectioners sugar until it forms soft peaks. Then add the Bailey's Irish Cream and whip until thick. (I prefer to turn off the mixer before it is too thick and finish the last few whisking laps by hand.)  Garnish the pie with chocolate shavings. Cover and refrigerate any leftovers.