Best Pie Evar!

... my husband thinks so anyway! I made this pie for his birthday (since he's not a fan of cake) and he loved it. Said it was better than any pie he's ever had. So I have to share the recipe with you all.

I got it out of my Real Simple magazine (along with my entire Thanksgiving Day menu) and its called Chocolate Fudge Pie. Lets face it, anything with the words chocolate and fudge in it... its gonna be good.

I had fun making it entirely from scratch. I'm not a cooking/baking goddess and have been known (many times) to use frozen pastry crusts, the tub of cool whip, and to not even bother with the chocolate shavings on top. But since this was for J's birthday... I went all out. And had fun doing so! It turned out so amazing.

1 pie crust (store bought or homemade) fitted into a 9 inch pie plate

6 oz. semisweet chocolate (chopped, plus more set aside for shavings)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

3 large eggs

1/8 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 cup plus 3 TBL. granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Heat oven to 375 degrees - place the pie plate on a baking sheet. Prick the crust with a fork and line with foil. Fill to top with pie weights or dried beans (I just pricked some holes in the crust and it worked out fine) Bake until the edges are firm, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake until just golden, 8-10 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 325 F. In a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter.

Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs, salt, and 1/2 cup of the sugar until fluffy, 4-5 minutes.

Fold a third of the eggs mixture into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the remainder.

Pour the combined mixture into the crust and bake until puffed and beginning to crack, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool for 1 hour, then chill.

Beat the cream with the remaining sugar until soft peaks form. Spread over the pie and sprinkle with the shaved chocolate.