Grasshopper Pie
Food and Drink

Excerpted from COOK’S COUNTRY EATS LOCAL: 150 Regional Recipes You Should Be Making No Matter Where You Live. Copyright 2015 by the Editors at America’s Test Kitchen.

Grasshopper Pie

Serves: 8

 

For the crust:

16 Mint Creme Oreo cookies (with filling), broken into rough pieces

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

 

For the filling:

3 large egg yolks

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup sugar

Pinch salt

2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin

1/4 cup green crème de menthe

1/4 cup white crème de cacao

Shaved chocolate curls, optional

For the Crust:  Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350°F. Process cookies in food processor to fine crumbs, about 45 seconds. Transfer to bowl, drizzle with butter, and toss. Press crumbs evenly into bottom and sides of 9-inch pie plate and refrigerate crust until firm, about 20 minutes. Bake until set, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely on wire rack.

For the Filling:  Beat egg yolks in medium bowl. Combine ½ cup cream, sugar, and salt in medium saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin over cream mixture and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Cook over medium heat until gelatin dissolves and mixture is very hot but not boiling, about 2 minutes. Whisking vigorously, slowly add gelatin mixture to egg yolks. Return mixture to saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add crème de menthe and crème de cacao. Pour into clean bowl and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until filling is wobbly but not set, about 20 minutes.

Using a stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip remaining 1½ cups cream until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes. Whisk 1 cup whipped cream into gelatin mixture until completely incorporated. Using rubber spatula, fold gelatin mixture into remaining whipped cream until no white streaks remain. Scrape mixture into cooled pie shell, smooth top, and refrigerate until firm, at least 6 hours or preferably overnight. (Pie will keep tightly wrapped in refrigerator for up to 2 days.) Serve, topped with chocolate curls if using.

Mess-Free Crumb Crust

While it’s easier to put together a crumb crust than to roll out traditional pie dough, that doesn’t mean that crumb crusts are problem-free. The crust can be crumbly and loose, and it often sticks to everything but the pie plate. Here’s how to make even, mess-free crumb crusts every time.

Distribute and press: Use hands to distribute crumbs in even layer over bottom and up sides of pie plate. Press down lightly.

Smooth into pan: Place plastic wrap on top of crust then run back of spoon over crumbs, smoothing them into bottom, curves, and sides of pan.

Chocolate curls: You’ll need a block (not bar) of chocolate—semisweet and bittersweet both work well—that’s at least 1 inch thick. Soften chocolate by microwaving on lowest power setting for 1 minute.  It should soften, not melt. Run blade of vegetable peeler along width of the softened chocolate, creating curl.