This delicious black bottom oatmeal pie combines toasty oats in a pecan pie-like filling on top of a rich layer of chocolate ganache.
Place flour, sugar, and salt in food processor; pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse until the butter is in little pieces, no larger than peas.
With the machine running, drizzle in water and pulse until clumps form.
Use your hands to knead the dough together into a ball. Flatten into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate one hour.
Preheat your oven to 400F. Remove dough from fridge. On a lightly floured surface, roll out into a 12 inch circle, or at least 1 inch wider on each side than your pie dish is. You need this overhang to form the edge.
Use your rolling pin to transfer the dough into regular pie dish or pan. Drape dough into the pan without stretching the dough. At the sides of the pan, angle the dough into the bottom edges at a 90 degree angle to get it to lay without stretching.
Trim if necessary to make the dough a relatively even circle that extends past the sides of your pan. Use trimmings to patch in any cracks along the sides. Tuck the edges of the pie crust dough underneath themselves and crimp to seal. (This is important as it gives you height you need for the pie filling.)
Parbake the crust. It's recommended to chill your pie crust for 10 minutes to firm up the butter and keep the crust from becoming misshapen. Prick bottom of crust liberally and bake at 400F for about 10 minutes. Let cool while you make the filling.
Reduce oven temperature to 350F. Place oats on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure they don't burn. Let cool briefly. (I've forgotten to do toast the oatmeal, and it still turns out ok.)
Meanwhile, melt together cream and chocolate. In a heat-safe bowl over a pot of water on medium heat, stir the cream and milk together until smooth. (See notes for microwave instructions.) Spread evenly over bottom of cooled pie crust. Place pie crust with ganache in freezer while you prepare the oat filling.
Reduce oven temperature to 325F. In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, nutmeg, salt, and melted butter. Add corn syrup, vanilla, and vinegar. Add eggs, and whisk again to combine.
Stir in the oats with a rubber spatula. Place prepared, slightly chilled chocolate-covered crust on a baking sheet, and pour the oat filling into it.
Bake at 325F for 55-75 minutes; mine took about 65 the first time and 75 the second time. Pie will look dark, and dry on top. If the filling sloshes/jiggles/makes waves underneath the surface when you pull it out, the pie is not done and needs more time. The center will be slightly firm to the touch but have a little give when done.
Cool completely (2-3 hours) before serving.
A food processor makes making a pie crust much, much easier. You can also use a pastry cutter or two knives criss-crossed to cut in the butter, which you should cut into small pieces before adding. Use a fork to toss the crumbles and water together, then form dough into a ball and proceed with the recipe.
I've forgotten to toast the oats; still delicious.
To microwave the ganache, place cream and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 15 second increments on high, stirring after each increment. Repeat until the ganache is smooth. The chocolate will be clumpy if not heated enough, but DO NOT OVERHEAT or your ganache will become grainy. Mine did this once; I added extra cream to compensate, although it didn't really help smooth it. However, you couldn't notice the graininess in the final pie.
Adapted slightly from Smitten Kitchen