Chocolate Nut Wedges

It was Valentine's Day and I had insisted on bringing dessert to Lee's house that evening. Time was short and shopping for ingredients not an option. Luckily, a few hours earlier I had treated myself to a new cookbook- The Weekend Baker by Abigail Johnson Dodge. It was Saturday and I was going to bake, so the fit was perfect.  The following recipe, adapted from the cookbook, was EASY and everyone at Lee's loved it. There is a good chance that you, too, will have all the ingredients on hand for Chocolate Nut Wedges.

3/4 cup flour                                                         1/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 cup sugar                                                        1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips                  1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder,                 2 large eggs

sifted if lumpy                                                       1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie plate.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Whisk until well blended. Mix together the oil and eggs with a fork until blended.(You can do this in a 2 cup measuring cup).  Pour the liquid over the flour mixture and mix with rubber spatula until blended.  Scrape the batter into the prepared pie plate and spread evenly.  Scatter the chopped nuts over the top.

Bake in center of the oven until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with only a few gooey pieces clinging to it, about 20 minutes.  Transfer baking dish to a rack and let cool.  Cut the pie into 8 wedges. Serve with your favorite ice cream.

Notes: I used pecans but walnuts or hazelnuts would also be fine. Lee had homemade chocolate sauce which was delicious over the ice cream and pie. 

To store, cover the cooled wedges in the pie plate with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for up to 3 days.  To freeze,  cool the uncut pie for about 20 minutes in the pie plate, then invert pie onto rack to cool completely.  Wrap tightly and freeze for up to one month.