A few weeks ago, Bon Appetit’s Web Editor reached out to me to see if I’d be interested in submitting a recipe for the annual Bon Appétit Blog Envy Bake-Off. After immediately responding with an honorable YES, I pondered my favorite holiday treats. Aunt Jo’s peanut brittle. Nils’s mom’s sugar cookies. Lady’s chocolate chip Christmas bread. Ah yes, the Christmas bread.

The original recipe hails from the California Heritage cookbook Lady has referenced for 30 years. I swear she’s baked two loaves every Christmas since. It's simply tradition. On Christmas morning, after opening gifts, she releases a loaf from its foil wrap. Cuts thick slices riddled with a double dose of maraschino cherries and chocolate chips. Toasts until edges are golden. Slathers all with butter and cream cheese. We nosh until the chocolate muddies our teeth and the cherries stain our smiles. Energized and satiated, we return to familiarize ourselves with our new wares. Although a bread, these flavors speak to my ideal holiday treat. For my recipe, I’d play off the chocolate and berry core.

I’ll save you the painstaking obsession that ensued. I admit that I woke up one morning with the idea of a pretzel topping.

I admit that a flip of a quarter in the frozen food aisle changed the filling from cherry to raspberry. I admit that it’s taken me four weeks and three pies to nail it. I admit that on Thanksgiving morning, when I should have been prepping the turkey, I was instead pounding away at Annie’s chocolate graham cookies, eyeing furtively the clock, to recalculate our dinner’s serving time. I admit that my obsessive efforts were rewarded.

I specify using Annie’s Chocolate flavored Bunny Grahams for the pie crust. I tried other graham cookies and nothing came close to how these cookies form a thick, chewy and stable crust.

The layer of thick, creamy white chocolate is balanced by...

the tart raspberry goo.

White chocolate pretzels splash a stark contrast to the red peeping through their ghostly expressions. The salty whisper they speak keeps in check all of the endearing sweetness.

If you'd like to vote for this dessert, visit: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2009/12/blog_envy . Click on "Vote Here" and take a sec to create a profile that will grant access to voting. My dessert is listed on the Pie category page. Thank you!

White Chocolate & Red Raspberry pie with Chocolate Graham Crust

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 1/2 cups Annie’s Chocolate flavored Bunny Grahams crumbs
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 cups white chocolate chips
4 tablespoons flour
5 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups frozen raspberries
¼ cup water
½ cup caster sugar
9-12 white chocolate-covered pretzels

Arrange oven rack in middle position and heat oven to 350°. Grease a 9-inch pie dish with 1 tablespoon of softened butter.

Melt the remaining 11 tablespoons of butter. In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter, cookie crumbs and light brown sugar until a buttery sheen covers all of the mealy bits.

Scoop 2 ½ cups of cookie crumb mixture into the greased pie dish. Assemble the pie crust by patting the crumbs from the center out toward the sides of the dish, until the surface is coated evenly.

Pour the white chocolate chips into a medium microwave-safe bowl. Heat chips in the microwave for 30 seconds. Remove from the microwave and stir the chips to coax melting from the warmed chocolate. If all of the chips have not melted, heat for an additional 10 seconds. Stir to melt remaining chips. Depending on the strength of the microwave, the process may take up to a minute. Heat chips in 10-second intervals, stirring in between, until all have melted, taking care not to scald the chocolate. Once all chips are melted, add 2 tablespoons of flour and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and stir to combine.

Using a spatula, dollop the chocolate mixture onto the crust and tenderly spread an even layer of chocolate over the bottom crust. Don’t fret if crumbs break away to dot the chocolate. It’s a lovely mess. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over a medium heat, stir together the raspberries and water until the thin layer of frost melts. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of flour, 3 tablespoons of cornstarch and caster sugar. Give all a thorough stirring until the raspberries release seeds and all is a thick, opaque jam, about 5 minutes. Lower heat if the jam sticks to the bottom. Remove from heat.

Scatter an even layer of the remaining cup of cookie crumbs over the white chocolate. Spoon the raspberry mixture over the crumb layer, mindfully spreading toward the edges to seal in the chocolate and crumb layers.

Bake pie in the oven for 25 minutes, until crust edges are toasted. Remove from oven and set on rack. Adorn with white chocolate pretzels in a pattern of your design. Cool for 25-30 minutes. Serve warm.