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Chocolate Peanut Pie

This article in AV Club led me to one of those new corners of my Southern food experience---peanut pie. It follows the same basic recipe as pecan pie but with peanuts substituted. (Who thought about making nuts into pies, anyway? The result is very good but I never would have thought of it on my own.) It sounded like a great idea. And while I was at it, why not make it chocolate?

This is the pie fresh out of the oven.

And this is a slice as part of my breakfast. I am a peanut nut and I really enjoyed this pie. The texture makes it a very different experience from a peanut butter sandwich. The nuggets of peanut embedded in the sugary, chocolaty matrix give you little pops of peanut flavor. I think much of the success of this pie relies on using fresh nuts; I found mine at Buford Highway Farmers Market. Store-roasted nuts in a jar would be much harder and not as flavorful. Sorry, Yankees, you will have to come down South to experience this little gem.

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