A twist on traditional pumpkin pie – swirled with decadent Nutella and baked in a gingersnap crust.
A swirly twirly pumpkin pie to add to your fall baking list. Isn’t she pretty?
Like gingerbread is to my Christmas, pumpkin pies are to my fall. Crunchy leaves, oversized sweaters, and pumpkin-spiced everything.
I usually cover my pumpkin pie with Cool Whip. Like… drown. My Thanksgiving dessert is typically a plate of Cool Whip and a side of my mom’s pumpkin pie. There’s nothing better. But this weekend, in true Sally fashion, I decided to wander down the unconventional route. I swirled my traditional pumpkin pie with chocolate. Nutella, to be exact.
Oh. And I also did not have Cool Whip hiding my freezer like I thought. So thereyago.
Chocolate saves the day.
We’ve got a standard pumpkin pie here. Eggs, heavy cream, pumpkin, brown sugar, and spices. The smooth creamy pie filling lies on a bed of spicy crushed gingersnaps binded with melted butter. For those of you who fear pie dough, this is an easy patted-down style crust, which means no rolling or chilling! It’s very easy and stays together nicely.
Feel free to use homemade gingersnaps for your crust, but make sure they are crunchy and sturdy enough for the heavy filling. Or use a graham cracker crust, traditional pie crust, or even a chocolate cookie crust (Oreo crust – that would be good).
I loved the flavor of the crunchy gingersnaps. Each bite of the crust had a complex sweet, spicy and sultry kick to it.
This was my first time trying pumpkin and Nutella together. Both items are almost always sitting in my pantry, but the thought never occured to me to combine them until last week. A total “aha!” moment. I truly feel that chocolate and pumpkin is an under-appreciated duo. I recently fell in love with a Skinny Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownie and a Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bar. This pie? Umm… not so healthy. Totally worth every decadent bite.
Here is a photo of the crust being made and the pie before going into the oven. Tip: warm, melted Nutella works best for swirling.
There are so many wonderful pumpkin pie recipes out there, but I wanted something different to share. Plus, I don’t think I could ever make my mom’s traditional pumpkin pie quite like she does. You don’t mess with the best!
Nutella Swirl Pumpkin Pie
A twist on traditional pumpkin pie - swirled with decadent Nutella and baked in a gingersnap crust.
Ingredients:
For the Crust:
- 1 and 1/2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
For the Filling:
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 15 ounce can pure pumpkin or 2 cups fresh pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar (or light brown sugar, I prefer dark)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger1
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves1
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg1
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup Nutella, warmed (or 4 oz melted high quality chocolate)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C) Spray 9 or 8 inch pie dish with nonstick spray. Set aside. Grind up gingersnap cookies into a fine crumb. Mix with melted butter, and sugar. Press into prepared pie dish. Do not press the crust far up the sides of the dish, or the cookies will end up burning. About halfway up the sides. Bake crust for 10 minutes and allow to slightly cool.
- In a large bowl, lightly whisk the eggs. Add the remaining ingredients (except for the Nutella) and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into pie crust. Drop spoonfuls of warmed Nutella (I usually kust stick in the microwave for 30 seconds) onto pie, swirling gently with a knife. Do not swirl too much, just lightly.
- Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes or until the filling is set. The center will still look wet but will not "jiggle" too much. Allow to cool completely and serve at room temperature. Pie is good up to 4 days covered tightly and stored in the refrigerator. Pie freezes well, up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes:
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice may be substituted for these spices.
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What is your favorite pumpkin pie recipe like?
And here is my Classic Pumpkin Pie recipe.
could you do this pie with a cream cheese swirl instead? i was thinking it might be too thin and just mix in:(
I’m sure you could– I’ve never tried it.
I just made this pie and it is gorgeous…can’t wait to taste it!
Great pie! Nutella did sink to the bottom though cos the batter was very liquidy, so now it’s in there as a sneaky surprise! I used mashed roasted pumpkin which I think contains more water than the canned version (we don’t have canned pumpkin in Australia). 2 cups worked well and it set really nicely. I also used a biscuit base with ground ginger snap biscuits subbed for 1/4 of the flour for the dough. Worked really well! Thanks for a great recipe – was a hit at our thanksgiving down under (Australia)!
I made this for Thanksgiving, using a brand other than Libby’s and using a graham cracker crust. It turned out great, but it was so rich that my nutella loving son couldn’t finish his slice. Though, after perusing the comments, I wonder if using not Libby pumpkin puree might have something to do with it. Because of the wonderful taste, I will try this again. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
This was an AMAZING pumpkin pie and will forever be a holiday staple. I threw a Christmas dinner and this was an additional pie that I made to test it out. Wow, was it amazing. I used Sally’s graham cracker crust because I couldn’t find ginger cookies and it was so delicious. I’m telling you the kind of delicious that you have pie for breakfast tge following morning – love you Sally!
I thought about perhaps using a springform pan, and mixing this recipe with a cheesecake hybrid. What do you think about that?
Thanks for this! I’m living in Germany and I’ve been looking for a pie recipe that has mostly ingredients that I can find here. Although I’ll have to substitute for the brown sugar, everything else fits the bill with a huge plus – Germans LOVE Nutella!!
Hi Sally
Having such great reviews and the look of these pictures, I cant wait to try the pie. I have never made a desert with pumpkin before and couldn’t find canned pumpkin here in India. Though we do have a lot of fresh pumpins. Can you suggest how to go about the puree? Any particular colour or ripeness of pumpins that I should look for?
Hi Gracy! Here is a ton of information and a wonderful tutorial for you! I find it helpful. http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/make-your-own-pumpkin-puree/
My lovely baking Goddess Sally , I am “reliving” your tasty pie , this gorgeous pumpkin with chocolate you said pie . I am up for it anytime of the year! Have a happy month Sally 🙂
Could this be made in muffin tins for mini pies? Would I need cupcake liners, or just press crust straight into muffin tins? Would they crumble when taken it? Adjustments for baking times?
Hi Erica! Yes, absolutely. I would use cupcake liners. The bake time should be around 20 minutes, give or take. I would pre-bake the crusts for 5-8 minutes first.
Can this pie be made ahead and frozen?
Yep! See the last step.
Thank you! I didn’t even pay attention to that! I’m excited to make this for Thanksgiving.
Can you use a traditional pie crust for this recipe? I have an extra one laying around in our fridge.
Yes. I recommend pre-baking (with pie weights) for 10 minutes at 350F.
Can gluten free gingersnaps be used for the crust?
I haven’t tried it, but assuming they are nice and crunchy– they should work. Let me know how your pumpkin pie turns out!