Butternut and Hazelnut Pie with a Sweet Chili Crust

One 9” pie

Sweet Chili Crust (enough for two pie crusts):

• 2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour

• ¼ cup hazelnut flour (I prefer Bob’s Red Mill)

• 3 Tbsp. sugar

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp chili powder

• 8 ounces cold butter

• ¼ cup ice water

1) Whisk together the flours, sugar, salt and chili powder.

2) With a box grater, grate the cold butter into the dry mix.

3) With a pastry cutter, or your fingers, quickly work in the butter until you have a sandy mix.

4) Add the water and gather the dough into a ball.  Cut into two equal portions and them individually in plastic wrap.  Chill for 30 minutes.  You will use one portion for this pie and have another ready for your next project!

Honeynut Squash Puree:

1) Peel 6 Honeynut squash.

2) Half the squash, remove the seeds and cut the flesh into 1” squares.

3) Toss the squash squares with 2 Tbsp. olive oil and 1 tsp of kosher salt and roast in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutesuntil fully cooked through and softened.

4) Let the squash cool for 15 minutes and then puree in a blender or food processor. If needed, thin the squash down with 1-2 Tbsp. apple cider to create a thick smooth puree.

5) Portion out 1 ½ cups to use for your pie and save the rest for other projects (squash pound cake or pasta filling!)

For your pie:

• ½ cup chopped hazelnuts

• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter

• ½ tsp kosher salt

• 1 Tbsp dark brown sugar

• 1 ½ cups Honeynut squash puree

• 1 cup dark brown sugar

• 3 large eggs

• 2 tsp cinnamon

• 1 tsp ground ginger

• ¼ tsp ground clove

• ½ tsp kosher salt

• ½ tsp vanilla paste or extract

• 1 cup heavy cream

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Roll out your pie dough.  Form it into your pie dish and chill while the oven comes up to temperature.

2) Blind bake the pie shell for 15-20 minutes until the crust looks dry and is starting to brown. Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees.

3) While the shell is baking, melt the butter in a small sautépan with the ½ tsp salt and Tbsp. of dark brown sugar.  When the butter has melted, whisk to combine with the salt and sugar.  Pour this over the chopped hazelnuts in a small bowl and stir to combine.

4) Whisk together the squash puree and 1 cup dark brown sugar.  Whisk in the three eggs, one at a time. Add the spices and vanilla and whisk to combine. Stir in the heavy cream until all is combined, doing your best to not incorporate any additional air.

5) Pour the custard into the pie shell and then scatter the hazelnuts around the edge of the custard.

6) Bake the pie 45-55 minutes until the custard is just set.  The custard will puff, but you want to maintain a slight jiggle.

7) Cool the pie on a wire rack to room temperature and serve with maple whipped cream.