Categories: Dessert

Ingredients

• Crust
• 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar or glazing sugar
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• *One cellophane-wrapped packet of graham crackers (11 whole crackers) will yield this amount of crumbs.
• Filling
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chopped semisweet chocolate*
• 2/3 cup (5 3/8 ounces) heavy cream
• 3/4 cup diced walnuts or pecans
• *Resist the urge to use bittersweet chocolate; with the acidic tang of the cranberries, it's just too much. You want a dark chocolate that's noticeably sweet; most chocolate chips will be fine. We prefer Peter's Burgundy chunks.
• Topping*
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups cranberry juice
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 12-ounce package fresh or frozen cranberries, a generous 3 cups
• *You'll need about 15 ounces (a scant 1 1/2 cups) topping for the pie. Enjoy the remainder on its own.

Directions

1. 1) Preheat the oven to 375°F.

2. 2) To make the crust: Process the crackers, sugar, and melted butter in a food processor until crumbly and well combined.

3. 3) Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9" pie pan.

4. 4) Bake the crust for about 7 to 8 minutes, until it’s set, but not brown. Remove from the oven and cool.

5. 5) To make the filling: Put the chips (or chopped chocolate) and cream in a microwave-safe container, and heat for about 90 seconds.

6. 6) Remove from the microwave, and stir until the mixture becomes smooth and dark brown; you’re simply making a basic ganache.

7. 7) Spoon the hot ganache into the cooled crust, and sprinkle the nuts on top.

8. 8) Refrigerate the pie for at least 1 hour, probably 2, until the ganache has firmed up.

9. 9) While the pie is chilling, make the topping. Bring the sugar, salt, and cranberry juice to a boil.

10. 10) Stir in the dried cranberries, and simmer for about 5 minutes.

11. 11) Add the fresh or frozen cranberries, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes, until some of the berries have burst.

12. 12) Remove the cranberries from the heat, spoon into a bowl, and chill.

13. 13) To finish assembling the pie: Spoon 1 1/2 cups cranberry sauce atop the fudge/nut filling. Chill until ready to serve.

14. Yield: 9" pie, 8 to 10 rich servings.

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