Chocolate Butter Pecan Pie

 Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1 deep dish ready-to-bake pie crust
• 1 cup pecan halves
• 1 3½ oz Ghirardelli dark chocolate bar 72% cacao
• 1 3½ oz package Jello butterscotch pudding & pie filling
• 2 cups skim milk

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Thaw pie crust at room temperature for 10-15 minutes.  
• Toast the pecans in a medium pan over medium heat until browned and fragrant, ~6 minutes.  Stir frequently to prevent burning and for even browning.  Remove to a cutting board and carefully cut into pieces.  Divide into two equal parts.
• Prick bottom and sides of crust thoroughly with a fork.  Bake crust for 10-13 minutes until it is golden brown.  Remove to the oven top.
• While the crust is baking, prepare the filling according to the package directions.
• Divide chocolate bar in half and break each half into small pieces, ~½ inch.  Reserve the pieces divided in two parts.
• When the crust is done, layer half of the pecans in the bottom.  Then equally distribute half of the chocolate pieces over the pecans.  When the butterscotch filling is done, pour it over the pecans and chocolate.  Carefully layer the second half of chocolate pieces over the filling and repeat with the second batch of pecan pieces.

This pie serves well warm.  Just allow the filling time to set before cutting.  If you refrigerate before serving, let it come to room temperature before serving. This dessert is relatively high in fat but thanks to the pecans and chocolate, most of it is healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat. 

Exchanges per serving:

½ Dairy, 2 Starches, 4 Fats

Nutrients per serving:

Calories:  359; Calories from fat:  198; Total Fat:  22g; Cholesterol:  2mg; Sodium:  206mg; Total Carbohydrate:  35g; Dietary Fiber:  3g; Protein:  6g