Chocolate Pecan Chess Pie {Small Batch Thanksgiving}

Gooey chocolate and chopped pecans in a small serving size pie crust for a dessert that's just enough when you are fewer around the table.

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For the past few weeks I've been sharing recipes and tips for when you are fewer in number around the table. My Small Batch Thanksgiving series includes a couple of side dishes (Dairy Free Corn Pudding Casserole and Small Batch Sweet Potato Casserole) as well as a list of tips to help you have a successful small holiday meal without resorting to a bunch of frozen single serving side dish bags. [Though if you'd like to have a bunch of frozen single serving side dish bags as your main event I won't knock it. You do you--but save room for dessert!]

To round out my Small Batch Thanksgiving series, I'm ending--as all good meals should end--with dessert. This Small Batch Chocolate Pecan Chess Pie was inspired by Laura of Mother Would Know, coupled with a dash of All Recipes thrown in for good measure. I knew I wanted pie--and Laura's chess pie looked so luscious--but I wanted to use the small graham cracker crust and cocoa powder I had in the pantry so a little bit of creative number crunching and recipe adapting took place. Necessity is the mother of invention after all.

My kitchen is messy when it's being well-used.

On this website the desserts are in the minority. I'm so focused on using up the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share vegetables that I rarely have energy for dessert. That's not to say I don't adore dessert! I've shared some winners here--you can see them best in the drop down sidebar menu (desktop version). We also go out for dessert (more than we go out for breakfast, lunch, or dinner now that I think of it). Location matters--I live within a Good Dog Walk distance to both Salted Caramel Killer Brownies and Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, so when we're craving something sweet it's no trouble to stretch our legs and work off a couple of calories while fetching a treat. During Thanksgiving, though, I wanted to keep it simple, keep it relaxed. Having a yummy dessert at home worked best for me.I was so chill I didn't even take a photo of a pie slice! Do imagine, though, that we cut the pie into 6 pieces (one with dinner and one for breakfast) and topped each one with sweetened whipped cream.

As this is my last post before the holiday, I'd like to wish you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving!

Chocolate Pecan Chess Pie (makes 6 slices, you decide the serving size)

(inspired by Mother Would Know and All Recipes)

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons dark cocoa powder
• 2 eggs
• 3 Tablespoons melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 ounces evaporated milk
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 6 ounce prepared graham cracker crust

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar and cocoa powder until mixed.
3. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add in butter, vanilla and milk. Mix until blended.
4. Add sugar mixture to egg mixture. Combine thoroughly. Stir in pecans.
5. Pour into prepared graham cracker crust.
6. Bake (on a rimmed baking sheet just in case it overflows) for 35 to 45 minutes until center of pie is just set.
7. Cool to room temperature (on a rack works best) before slicing and serving. 

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