This deeply rich Maple Chocolate Walnut Pie combines maple syrup, dark chocolate, and toasted walnuts in a buttery, flaky pie crust. The filling is gooey, chocolatey, and filled with crunchy nuts. It has all the textures and flavors for a cool weather dessert or special holiday.
This pie is great for Thanksgiving or Christmas because it has familiar flavors, but it’s just a little bit different. Everyone is well versed in pies like Traditional Apple Pie, Dutch Caramel Apple Pie, or pumpkin treats like Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread, but this pie takes the comforting flavors of maple, chocolate, and walnuts and brings them together, in a unique dessert.
I’ve made this pie a number of times figuring out which combinations and quantities of ingredients work well and which don’t. I've included all the tips and tricks below to make adjustments to make it your own, but still ensure that it tastes great!
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💡Recipe Inspiration:
When taking a year-long road trip around the country with our family of five, we ended up in the town of Healdsburg in Northern California outside of Sonoma (Guide to Visiting Healdsburg). It’s a big foodie town, with tons of restaurants with innovative, but casual menus (and an intimate town square – literally a square in the center of town surrounded by shops and restaurants – how often do you see that).
While there we had a slice of pie and ice cream at the Noble Folk, an ice cream shop and bakery. It was gooey and filled with chocolate and maple. It was so good warmed up and topped with ice cream. This recipe is inspired by that pie.
🔍 Recipe Testing
I made this pie and pie crust several times searching for the right combination of flavors and textures. Below are my notes so you can learn from my experimentation and make it your own.
Pie Crust:
- Volume: The first pie crust was just not enough volume. I wanted a pie crust that was plenty thick so that you didn't stress about rolling it too thin or having issues when shaping the crust. This version gives you a plenty-thick pie crust, great for shaping.
- Blind Baking: I both blind baked the crust (for more than one version), and skipped the blind baking and baked it together with the filling. Blind baking did not help at all with the texture of the pie, and actually made it more difficult to fill the pie. This version does not require blind baking.
- Butter Content: One version just did not have enough butter. Butter, here, is the key to a flaky, rather than doughy or bland pie crust. So I increased the amount of butter for a flakier crust. I’ve also made a version of this pie crust with cold butter and a version with room-temperature butter. While cold butter is better, it's only slightly better, so room temperature butter is fine too.
Filling:
- Texture: One version had a really thick, brownie-like consistency, and tasted great, but I wanted it to be gooey. This version reduces the amount of flour to only 1 tablespoon and relies on melted chocolate, maple syrup, and eggs to create a gooey middle.
- Chocolate: I’ve made this with both milk chocolate and dark chocolate, and the dark chocolate wins out. It's richer and fits better with the maple syrup. However, feel free to use milk chocolate if that’s what you have or prefer. Just be sure to buy high-quality chocolate.
- Nuts: I’ve used both walnuts and pecans, toasted and untoasted. Both nuts are great. So feel free to use either or a combination. Both toasted and not toasted are fine too, but toasted nuts have a little more flavor than untoasted. This recipe calls for toasting the nuts, but you can feel free to skip this.
🌟 Why You’ll Love This Pie
Texture: It's ooey gooey with crunchy nuts, and a buttery flaky crust.
Flavor: It combines maple syrup and melted dark chocolate, yum!
No Fuss: It's relatively simple to put together with a fuss-free pie crust, and a relatively simple filling. There's also plenty of details and photos below to help you along the way.
🛒 Ingredients
Below are the ingredients needed to make Maple Chocolate Walnut Pie.
Pie Crust:
- Flour: Use all-purpose, unbleached flour.
- Salt: For bringing out flavor.
- Sugar: For a subtle hint of sweetness.
- Butter: I use salted butter.
- Ice Water: Using cold water helps to prevent the dough from softening too much.
Filling:
- Walnuts: Toast them yourselves for added flavor. The smell of them coming out of the oven is so good!
- Butter: I used salted butter.
- Flour: Use all-purpose, unbleached flour.
- Vanilla Extract: Use real vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla. Costco sells a large bottle, that is often cheaper than a small bottle at the grocery store.
- Salt: To balance and bring out flavor.
- Eggs & Egg Yolk: Adds richness, particularly using an extra egg yolk.
- Maple Syrup: Use real maple syrup, not pancake syrup.
- Dark Chocolate Chips: Use high-quality chocolate chips such as Guittard or Ghirardelli. You can find these at Target, Whole Foods, and many local grocery stores. Other brands or store brands do not taste nearly as good and do not melt well either. If you prefer you can use milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate for a less intense flavor.
Egg Wash
- Egg White: Reserved from the egg yolk used above, when combined with the water and brushed on the fluted pie crust it creates a glossy finish.
- Water: To slightly thin out the egg white.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
📝 How to Make Maple Chocolate Walnut Pie
Below are the step-by-step instructions for how to make Maple Chocolate Walnut Pie including a detailed look at the crust and the filling.
*Note: The recipe card with instructions, ingredient list, and quantities is included further below these step-by-step photos.
Step 1: Start the Pie Crust: Add the flour, salt, sugar, and room-temperature butter to a large mixing bowl. Use a spoon to combine the ingredients, mashing with the back of the spoon if needed to create a crumb-like consistency.
Step 2: Add Water: Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together.
Tip: The dough should not be crumbly (but not too wet either). If it is crumbly now, it'll be crumbly later when you try to roll it out.
Step 3. Refrigerate the Dough: Shape the dough into a flat disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
Step 4. Roll Out the Dough: Lightly flour a clean work surface. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough.
- If the dough is hard you can tap it with the heel of your palm or the rolling pin to help soften it.
- Roll out the dough starting with the rolling pin in the center of the dough and pushing outwards.
- Lift the dough and rotate it 90 degrees. If the dough is sticking to the counter add additional flour to prevent sticking. Continue until the dough is large enough to fit into your pie dish with ½ to 1 inch of overhang.
Step 5. Transfer to the Pie Dish: Gently place the pie dough into the pie dish so that it is flush with the bottom and sides.
Step 6. Fold the Edges: Fold any dough that overhangs the dish (this should be ½ to 1 inch) over (outwards) and underneath, so that the new rimmed edge is thicker than the rest of the pie crust.
Step 7. Flute the Edges: Use the knuckle of your index finger on your non-dominant hand and the thumb and index finger of your dominant hand to flute the edges. Lay the pie dish with the crust flat in the freezer while you work on the filling.
Tip: Fluted Edges. Use the knuckle of your index finger rather than the tip of your finger to create the fluted edges. It creates a rounder edge, and your fingernails are less likely to get in the way.
For years I had trouble with creating a fluted edge on a pie crust. It always seemed so simple, but I could never do it. Ultimately, the trick is to have an extra thick rim of dough around the edge. This helps it to hold its shape and to be substantial enough to look fluted. For that reason, this pie crust is designed to be extra thick.
Step 8. Toast the Walnuts (optional): Preheat the oven to 350℉. Place the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven for 8 minutes. This step is entirely optional. Toasting the nuts creates depth of flavor, and they smell so good coming out of the oven, but if you want to save yourself a step you can skip it.
Tip: If you want smaller chunks of walnuts in your pie, rather than halved walnuts, feel free to chop them into smaller pieces.
Step 9. Melt the Chocolate: Place the chocolate in a microwavable bowl and microwave for 1 minute at 50% power. Stir and add 30 seconds at 50% power as needed, stirring in between until melted.
Step 10: Add the Butter: Add the melted butter to the melted chocolate and stir to combine.
Step 11. Add the Maple Syrup and Eggs: Add the maple syrup and stir until combined. Ensure that the batter is at room temperature. Then add the two eggs and the egg yolk and combine.
Tip: Ensure that the batter is not hot before adding the eggs or you will scramble the eggs. Adding the maple syrup after the melted chocolate and butter is typically enough to cool the mixture down before adding the eggs, but be sure to check.
Step 12. Sift in Flour: Sift in the flour with a fine mesh strainer. This is to prevent the flour from clumping up in the batter.
Step 13. Add the Walnuts: Add in the toasted walnuts and stir to combine.
Step 14. Assemble the Pie: Remove the pie crust from the freezer. Pour the maple chocolate walnut filling into the pie crust.
Bake at 350℉ for 45-50 minutes. It is done when the crust is a medium golden brown color. For a more goey filling err on the side of 45 minutes. For a firmer filling, err on the side of 50 minutes.
❄️ How to Store and Freeze
- To Store: Allow the pie to cool fully, then cover in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and let sit on the counter for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- To Freeze: Wrap the pie tightly in plastic wrap, or cut slices and store in a sealed container or gallon-sized bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
✏️ Maple Chocolate Walnut Pie FAQs
Yes. I've made this with both walnuts and pecans and you can use either or a mixture of both.
Absolutely, this is a great pie to make ahead. Make it 1-3 days ahead. Store in the fridge then reheat in the oven for roughly 15 minutes.
The pie is done when the edges of the pie crust start to brown. For a more gooey filling pull out the pie when the crust is light brown, for a firmer filling wait until the edges are golden brown.
🥧 A Quick Guide to Pie at Elle & Pear
Apple Pies: The largest collection of pies on this site goes to the apple pie category with a traditional Apple Pie, a Dutch Caramel Apple Pie, and a Graham Cracker Crust Apple Pie made with a bottom graham cracker crust and a crumb topping. There's also a Swedish Apple Pie made without a bottom crust and rather a thick cake-like topping, and the very easy Apple Crostata, which is a simpler apple pie made without a pie dish.
Citrus Pies: I love citrus-based pies, with Key Lime Pie with Graham Cracker Crust being one of my early favorites, but this Lemon Pie Without Meringue is one of the most popular recipes on the site.
Chocolate Pie: Nothing quite beats a Chocolate Cream Pie and this one comes with an easy graham cracker crust.
Ginger Pie: A unique pie made with fresh ginger, maple syrup, brown sugar, and a gingersnap cookie crust.
If You're Looking for More Pie Recipes, You May Love These:
If you tried this Maple Chocolate Walnut Pie or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. I'd love to hear from you!
Maple Chocolate Walnut Pie
Ingredients
Pie Dough
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 5-6 tablespoon ice water
Maple Chocolate Walnut Filling
- 2½ cups walnuts
- 4 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup high-quality dark chocolate such as Ghirardelli or Guittard
Egg Wash
- 1 egg white (reserved from egg yolk used for the filing)
- 1 teaspoon water
Instructions
Pie Crust
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, sugar, and softened butter by hand with a large spoon (not a mixer). Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture comes together and forms a dough. It should not be crumbly.
- Press the dough into a round disk, cover in plastic wrap, then refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface, adding more flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking to the counter or the rolling pin from sticking to the dough.
- To roll out the dough place the rolling pin in the center of the dough and press and roll outwards. Lift the dough, turn it 90 degrees, and repeat. This prevents the dough from sticking to the counter.
- Continue to roll out the dough (avoiding pressing too hard at the edges to avoid tapered edges) until the dough is large enough to fit in the pie dish with ½-1 inch of overhang.
- Tuck any crust that hangs over the dish over the outer edge (rather than tucking in towards the center) and press it to create a nicely rounded and thicker top crust.
- Flute the edge of the pie crust with the knuckle of your index finger on your nondominant hand and your thumb and index finger on your dominant hand (see picture in steps above if needed). Place the pie dish flat in the freezer while you work on the filling.
Maple Chocolate Walnut Filling
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Place the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast them at 350℉ for 8 minutes.
- In a large microwave-safe mixing bowl add the dark chocolate chips. Microwave for 1 minute at 50% power, stir, and add 30 seconds as needed until it has melted. Add the melted butter and stir to combine.
- Add the maple syrup and combine. Ensure that the batter is at room temperature. It should not be hot, or it will cook the eggs. Then add the 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk and mix thoroughly to combine.
- Sift in the flour.
- Add the toasted walnuts and stir to combine.
- Remove the pie crust from the freezer. Pour the filling into the pie crust.
- Combine the egg white and 1 teaspoon water. Brush on the fluted edges of the pie crust.
- Bake the pie at 350℉ for 45-50 minutes or until the crust starts to turn brown. Check the crust at the 30-minute mark and cover if needed to prevent the crust from burning. You may not need to do this at all, but it is worth checking to prevent a burnt crust.
- Allow the pie to cool, but serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream.
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