With a name like hazelnut white chocolate blondie pie, you’d think I would have been able to get a better picture. Alas, t’was not so. For one thing, this is just a homely pie. For another, the hazelnut praline topping is really shiny. And for a last thing, if I worry so much about taking good pictures, I’m never going to get posts up. So. Oh, well!

This hazelnut blondie pie is dang good, even if it doesn’t look like much. It’s also fairly complicated. But it’s my friend MC’s favorite, and to save her from future fruitless attempts at googling the recipe, I promised to post it.

It’s also got a creamy filling texture with chunks of hazelnut brittle. So “blondie” is more a description of the taste than the texture. Just FYI.

This is the culmination of the buttery graham crust and hazelnut brittle I posted about last week. It’s an adaptation of the blondie pie recipe from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook. I’m just using hazelnuts instead of cashews and simplifying your life by putting the whole recipe in one place. (It’s on many different pages of the book, since it’s three separate recipes combined).

End of preamble. I’m also trying to get consistent about posting more often, which means short posts are better than no posts!

Ingredients are listed in the order they appear in the recipe and anything that requires prep is in bold. Ingredients are bolded in the directions when you first encounter them and the quantity required is included. I also include notes about any special equipment required.

Hazelnut White Chocolate Blondie Pie

(Adapted from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook)

Hazelnut Brittle / Praline

• 3/4 cup chopped, toasted hazelnuts
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2  tablespoons neutral oil (vegetable oil, grapeseed oil, etc.) – this will be used later to make a praline topping for the finished pie

Buttery Graham Cracker Crust

• 1 1/2 cups (190 grams) graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup (20 grams) nonfat milk powder
• 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or 1/2 teaspoon regular salt
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick / 55 grams) butter, melted
• 1/4 cup (55 grams) heavy cream

White Chocolate Blondie Pie Filling

• 5 1/2 ounces (160 grams) white chocolate, chopped
• 4 tablespoons (55 grams) butter
• 2 egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons (40 grams) sugar
• 1/2 cup (105 grams) heavy cream
• 1/3 cup (52 grams) flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/2 teaspoon regular salt)

Required equipment: medium saucepan, silicone spatula, silicone baking mat . Pie plate (9″ or 10″ standard, not deep dish). Food processor. 

First, make the brittle.

(See full post for more detailed instruction and notes about making the hazelnut brittle). Prep-work: make sure your 3/4 cup hazelnuts are toasted and chopped. Place your silicone baking mat in a rimmed baking sheet, and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, add the 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar and turn the heat on to medium high. As soon as the sugar starts to melt (a minute or two), begin to stir with a silicone spatula – constantly moving the sugar around to avoid burning. The mixture will get very chunky (see pictures above), just keep stirring until it melts and begins to turn amber. As the sugar liquifies, focus on pressing out the chunky bits and keeping the mixture moving. It’s done when the mixture is a warm, dark amber and no major chunks remain (probably 7-10 minutes).

Remove from heat and immediately dump in the chopped hazelnuts. Working quickly, stir to combine/coat the hazelnuts and then dump the mixture onto the prepared pan. Allow to cool while you make the graham crust.

Make the graham crust.

Prep-work: melt the butter in a small saucepan and set aside to cool. Grind up the graham crackers in a food processor.

In a medium bowl, toss together the 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup nonfat milk powder, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, and 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Just try to get the ingredients all evenly distributed.

Pour in the 4 tablespoons of melted butter and the 1/4 cup heavy cream. Mix to combine – the result will be a clumpy mass of now sticky crumbs. It’ll hold its shape if you pick up a handful and squeeze.

Dump the crumbs into the pie plate and roughly divide it in half by creating an inner and outer circle with your finger. Press the outer half up the sides of the plate first, then fill in the bottom with the pile in the middle. 

Make the white chocolate blondie pie filling.

Prep work: chop your 5 1/2 ounces of white chocolate. Separate two eggs, and store the whites for breakfast tomorrow. Roughly chop half of the hazelnut brittle into chunks. (You’ll use the other half for the praline topping). 

Heat the oven to 325° F.

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the 5 1/2 ounces white chocolate and the 4 tablespoons butter. Whisk until smooth. (You can also melt them in the microwave, but you’re a braver human than I.)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the 2 egg yolks and 3 tablespoons sugar. Add the white chocolate mixture and whisk to combine. Slowly drizzle in the 1/2 cup heavy cream and whisk to combine.

In a small bowl, stir the chopped hazelnut brittle together with the 1/3 cup flour and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Then, carefully fold this into the white chocolate mixture. 

Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust. Bake for 30-35 minutes. It will set slightly in the center and the top will darken in color. It shouldn’t seem totally jiggly in the center. The crust will also get a darker, caramelly brown. 

Allow to cool to room temperature.

Make the hazelnut praline.

In the bowl of a food processor, dump the other half of the hazelnut brittle. Add the 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and process until you have a smooth paste.

Spread the hazelnut praline over the top of the pie, and then you can finally enjoy your efforts! You deserve it.

_{Disclaimer: in the hopes of some (far off) day being able to quit my day job, this post contains affiliate links. Unless otherwise noted, I only link to things I actually recommend, and I might earn a commission if you end up buying something. That would be cool, but no worries if it’s not your thing.}