Saturday Sweets: Nocciolata Saves Thanksgiving

It’s hard to believe it, but Thanksgiving is less than a week away. If it snuck up on you, like it did me, then there’s a chance you’re on the hunt for something to bring to the dinner table next Thursday. Enter: Nocciolata to save the day! Nocciolata is a chocolate hazelnut spread (basically Nutella), but it’s completely free of GMO's, preservatives, colors, additives, or artificial sweeteners. It combines hazelnuts, fair trade cocoa and cocoa butter, natural vanilla extract, skimmed milk, and raw cane sugar for a chocolate-hazelnut spread with undeniably superior flavor. It’s made with environmentally-responsible cold-pressed sunflower oil. It also contains far less sugar than other brands and is free from hydrogenated fats. So it’s almost healthy, right?

I got myself a jar and did some experimenting this week and I’ve got to admit - it was hard to not eat the entire thing with a spoon! If you’ve read Saturday Sweets before then you probably know a thing or two about my chocolate hazelnut spread obsession. I whipped up come Nocciolata swirl cupcakes topped with hazelnut buttercream, chocolate cake crumbs, and Nocciolata drizzle and they were a hit!

Nocciolata is definitely versatile when it comes to making desserts and would be the perfect addition to your basic pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving.

Check out this recipe using Nocciolata and let us know what you think:

Nocciolata Swirl Pumpkin Pie

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

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

• 1t pumpkin pie spice

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup Nocciolata*, warmed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 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 bottom of prepared pie dish and about halfway up the sides. Bake crust for 10 minutes and cool slightly.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the remaining ingredients (except for the Nocciolata) and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into pie crust. Drop spoonfuls of warmed Nocciolata onto pie and swirl gently with a knife.

3. Bake at 350°F 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.

Pumpkin pie recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction