The combination of sweet cherries with bittersweet chocolate was a classic long before Ben & Jerry brought it into our hearts and homes. Using our brownie-like Double Chocolate Chunk Biscotti cookies as a base, you can use fresh or frozen, sweet or sour, or any combination to achieve this Cherry Garcia pie of your dreams. Serve with freshly whipped cream, ice cream, or drizzle with amaretto for a cheeky adult finish.
 

CHERRY CHOCOLATE PIE

Serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS

For the crust: 

▢ 1 box Double Chocolate Chunk Biscotti 
▢ 4-6 tbsp softened butter 

For the cherry pie filling:

▢ 2 lbs frozen pitted tart cherries
▢ 1/4 cup cornstarch
▢ 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
▢ 1/4 cup cane sugar
▢ 1 tbsp orange zest
▢ 1/2 tsp cinnamon
▢ 1/2 tsp ground ginger
▢ 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
▢ pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 
2. Pulse the cookies in a food processor until they're mostly pulverized. Add butter and pulse until well combined. 
3. Press the crust into an 8 or 9 inch pie plate. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes and cool completely. 
4. While the crust cools, place the cherries in a strainer over a bowl to capture any excess juices. Measure our 1 cup of cherry juice to use in the pie and set aside. 
5. Stir cornstarch and 1/4 cup water in a small bowl until smooth. Set aside. 
6. Place 1 cup cherry juice in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Add sugar and stir, return mixture to a boil. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the water and cornstarch slurry and stir until the mixture thickens and becomes clear and glossy. Remove from heat and pour over cherries. Stir in cinnamon, ginger, vanilla extract, orange zest and salt. Cool completely. 
7. Increase the oven heat to 375. Fill the chocolate pie filling with the cherry mixture and bake until bubbly and delicious, roughly 40 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely. 
8. Serve with whipped cream. 
9. Mangiamo.