Updating the very tasty Strawberry Rhubarb Chocolate Pretzel Crust Pie, it’s so good but with only 3 Smart Points. After making a zero point Strawberry Rhubarb Pie which was good, but it’s really pie without crust. My quest lead me to grocery store isles looking for low point ingredients that could be used to make the crust. I found some mini salt free pretzels that had fairly low Smart Points that could be made into crust.
Strawberry Rhubarb Chocolate Pretzel Crust Pie
So what would be a great binder for crushed pretzels? I am a totally chocolate junky, it’s my weakness. I love chocolate, I am going to use my 65% dark couverture chocolate sparingly. Melting dark chocolate over hot water just until it completely melts around 96°F, then adding cocoa butter beta crystals to seed chocolate for quick tempering. This method is 100% reliable. A good substitute is perfectly tempered new chocolate added to melted chocolate to help bind all fat crystals together properly. This sounds complicated, but using the cocoa butter beta crystals works magically.
The next challenge is getting the chocolate pretzel crust not to stick to the bottom of pie pan. There is a few good solutions, lining bottom with plastic wrap, or parchment paper, maybe even foil. Chocolate doesn’t stick to plastic wrap, but you need to have plastic wrap perfectly smooth with very few wrinkles. Using foil will work also but can be tricky to peel off from the bottom and it also wrinkles too. My first try will be with plastic wrap, allow plenty of excess plastic wrap over edges of the pie pan for easy removal.
The only way to achieve a even thin chocolate pretzel crust was to carefully roll pretzel crust between two sheets of plastic wrap, using rolling pin. Stretching plastic wrap several times as you roll the chocolate pretzel crust out is very important. The chocolate pretzel crust wants to creep under plastic making it difficult to roll out perfectly. This may be very frustrating but it works, be patient. I was only able to get bottom of the pie pan covered completely with the chocolate crust. My goal was to have it come up sides, but that would add way too many extra Smart Points to recipe. So having a good bottom crust, giving it great crunchy texture with pretzel and chocolate is winner.
The Strawberry Rhubarb Pie filling has 0 Smart Points, the filling has been tested it sets up firm, with the help of unflavored gelatin. An alternate method is using an extra box of Strawberry Sugar-free gelatin. But by using the gelatinization strength of unflavored Knox gelatin, will give better firmness so the pie cuts clean.
Thinking of garnishing each Strawberry Rhubarb Chocolate Pretzel Crust Pie slice with a chocolate covered pretzel bite and fanned strawberry, with a small dollop of Cool Whip Light. This give some extra color and texture with good eye appeal.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 8 pieces | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 15 minutes | 8 hours |
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Wow, a Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with chocolate pretzel crust with only 3 Smart Points. This will satisfy chocolate craving, and a piece of Strawberry Rhubarb Pie that's made with dark chocolate and pretzels.
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- 75 grams dark chocolate 65% dark chocolate
- 1 gram beta crystals cocoa butter or substitute 25 grams dark chocolate pieces
- 60 grams mini pretzels salt free crushed fine
- Place pretzels into food processor bowl with knife attachment, process pretzels until finely chopped.
- Melt dark chocolate in bowl over hot water bath on very low heat. Note the water bath should be only 160 degrees. Stirring chocolate constantly until just melts, the chocolate should not be over 96 degrees. Remove from heat and wipe bottom of the bowl to remove and water condensation.
- Add to the melted chocolate a small amount of new chocolate about 10 grams, stirring constantly until chocolate all melt.
- When all the chocolate is melted it is in temper. The chocolate should be around 88 degrees.
- Next add the chopped pretzels to the tempered chocolate.
- Stir chocolate and pretzel pieces until combined.
- Pour chocolate and pretzel mixture onto large piece of plastic wrap.
- Place another piece of plastic wrap over the top of chocolate mixture and roll thin. Note you will have to pull on plastic wrap often so chocolate mixture doesn't get hunge up onto top piece. This takes a little time but produces even thickness of chocolate mixture.
- Peel the top piece of plastic wrap off carefully when chocolate is almost set. Then place plastic wrap side down into bottom of pie pan. Cool in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set solid. Note as chocolate is refrigerating make the strawberry rhubarb filling.
- After chocolate mixer is totally firm pull on the plastic wrap and remove the crust from pan. Remove bottom pastic wrap from chocolate mixture.
- Place the chocolate pretzel crust back into bottom of the pie pan. Now it's ready to be filled with strawberry rhubarb filling.
- With small teaspoon scoop small amount of chocolate pretzel crust mixture onto silicon mat or parchment paper. Allow to set firm, this will be used as a crunchy garnish for pie.
- Cook the sliced fresh strawberries, diced rhubarb, water, vanilla cook and serve sugar free pudding mix in heavy duty sauce pan for about 5 to 8 minutes. Note cook this mixture until rhubarb is tender.
- After rhubarb is cooked tender add the strawberry sugar-free Jell-o and hydrated unflavored gelatin. Note be sure to hydrate the unflavored gelatin with 2 tbsp of cold water per packet.
- Stir the strawberry rhubarb filling mixture until all gelatin is dissolved into filling. This should take about 1 minute of constant stirring.
- Place the cooked strawberry rhubarb filling on ice water bath. Stirring constantly until filling cools to 70°F. Now the mixture is safe to pour into chocolate pretzel crust. Do not pour warm filling into chocolate crust it will melt the chocolate and you have a mess.
- Pour cooled strawberry rhubarb filling over chocolate pretzel crust. Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 8 hours so filling sets up firm.
- Cut pie into 8 pieces, garnish each piece with dollop of Cool Whip Light Topping, then place one piece of chocolate pretzel cluster onto Cool Whip. Finally garnish top of pie with strawberry fan. Enjoy only 3 Smart Points.
