Pie # 32: Chocolate Cream Pie

This pie tastes exactly the way it sounds: chocolatey and creamy. If you're a chocolate lover, this is a recipe for you. A certain someone (Steven) has been requesting this pie for about 6 months. I think that level of perseverance deserves a pie :)

Chocolate Cream Pie
From Ken Haedrich's Pie
(Printable version)

Crust
Oreo Crumb Crust

Filling:
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
1/8 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 cups whole milk
4 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped


Prepare crust and set aside.

Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in medium saucepan. Whisk in milk and egg yolks. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly. Keep stirring until mixture starts to boil and thicken. Keep over heat for 1 minute longer.

Try to not eat all the filling before you serve this pie :)

Remove from heat and immediately stir in butter (1 piece at a time) and vanilla. Whisk in chocolate, 1/3 at a time, until smooth and completely melted. Slowly pour into the pie shell and smooth with spoon.

Press a piece of plastic wrap directly over the filling so that a skin doesn't form. Chill in fridge for 4 hours or overnight. Serve with whipped cream.

Oreo Crust

Usually when a recipe calls for an Oreo crust, I head to the store and pick-up something pre-made. Not this time! I stumbled across this recipe in Ken Haedrich's Pie and I don't think I'll ever go back to the store for an Oreo crust.

Oreo Crust

(Printable version)

Ingredients:

3 cups coarsely broken Oreo Cookies (18-20 cookies)

Pinch of ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2-3 teaspoons milk

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine cookies and cinnamon in food processor (or crunch them up in a ziploc bag like me). Pulse repeatedly to make fine crumbs. Transfer crumbs to large bowl. Add butter and mix well with a fork. Add milk and mix with fork until crumbs clump together when pressed between your fingers.

Press crumbs into 9-inch pie plate. Bake at 325 degrees for 6 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and cool completely.

Pie # 23: Frozen Mud Pie

I've been making this pie with my best friend since we were in high school. It has four ingredients so it's foolproof. It's also the perfect addition to any movie night or a girl-sesh with too much wine.

Frozen Mud Pie

(Printable version)

1 pre-made oreo crust

peanut butter

1 pint ice cream (you can use anything: chocolate, peanut butter, etc. I chose Starbuck Mocha Frappuccino)

Hot fudge sauce

Melt peanut butter. (I never measure this, but if I were to guess, I would say 3/4 - 1 cup peanut butter) Pour into pie shell and freeze for 1 hour.

Allow ice cream to thaw on the counter for 15 minutes. Spread the ice cream over the peanut butter, smooth with a spatula and freeze for another hour.

Warm up fudge sauce and pour over mud pie right before serving.