Black-Bottom Pecan Cheesecake Pie

I use Thanksgiving with my parents to experiment with new desserts and new side dishes, and then I bake/cook whatever The Picky Apple requests for Thanksgiving with his family.  This year I brought a Black-Bottom Pecan Cheesecake Pie with a homemade crust to Thanksgiving with my parents.  It was delicious, but there was some stiff competition from two Derby Pie variations made by my brother (including one with 3 types of chocolate!).  If I can keep from eating all the leftovers, I plan to freeze individual slices of the pie for any last minute dessert “emergencies.”

Black-Bottom Pecan Cheesecake Pie

from Southern Living Homestyle Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 1 pie crust (refrigerated, or homemade, my recipe coming soon)
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
• 3 tbsp whipping cream
• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar, divided
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract, divided
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 3 tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
• 1 1/2 cups pecan halves
• Chocolate syrup (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Fit piecrust into 9 inch pie pan.  Fold edges under and crimp.

Microwave chocolate morsels and whipping cream in a small glass bowl for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until morsels begin to melt.  Whisk until smooth.  Set aside.

Beat cream cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, and salt at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.  Pour chocolate mixture into pie crust, spreading evenly.  Pour cream cheese mixture over chocolate layer.

Whisk together corn syrup, melted butter, remaining 3 eggs, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and remaining 1 tsp. vanilla.  Stir in pecans; pour over cream cheese layer.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 55 minutes or until set, shielding pie after about 45 minutes to prevent excessive browning.  Cool completely on a wire rack.  Drizzle each slice with chocolate syrup if desired.