Chocolate Pecan Pie

I made this easy-to-make but delicious dessert for our Thanksgiving dinner. It's adapted from Emeril Lagasse's recipe, and it's a welcome change from the standard pecan pie, which always tends to be cloyingly sweet. The addition of chocolate tempered the sweetness perfectly. The original recipe called for a caramel sauce for garnish, but I did away with it because it would have made the pie too sweet. Finally, I always try to make my crust from scratch because it's not really that difficult to make, but I have to admit that for this pie I used a pre-made crust, which I found in my daughter's freezer -- it wasn't too bad.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups pecans

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

4 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Spread the pecan pieces and the chocolate chips evenly on the bottom of the pie shell.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients together. Pour the filling over the pecans. Bake until the filling sets, about 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 30 minutes before slicing.