A Mad Men era Cocktail: Grasshopper as a Pie is Minty and Festive.
Grasshopper Pie
Prep 30 mins Bake 5 mins Chill 4 hours Eat 4:35
Mad Men fans, check this out! If you love mint, you are going to LOVE and fawn over this Grasshopper Pie that we made last year in our Pie class. With it’s minty green color, it was so festive looking, so I made it for our Christmas dinner. I knew that my chocolate-loving in-laws would go bonkers over the chocolate OREO cookie crust and the chocolate shavings on top. The combination of the creamy and minty interior paired with the chocolate literally sent me over the edge. It was that good! I haven’t made it since last Christmas, although I have wanted to. This year it is going on the menu again!
Shetara and Jamie showing off their Grasshopper Pies.
I innocently put the Grasshopper Pie on the menu last year for our November Pie class, based on a fond distant memory of going out to a special dinner as a child. My mother would always order a Grasshopper for her after dinner cocktail. I was given a taste and thought it was heavenly at age ten. I wanted something special for our Pie class and I thought back to those dinners and the Grasshopper cocktail. Surely this would make a great pie that I could create. I did some research and found that Gourmet published a recipe for a Grasshopper Pie in their January 1991 issue. We followed the recipe in class and I highly recommend you make it for your holiday party. Certainly you could make it any time of year, but the green color screams Christmas or St. Patrick’s Day to me! I promise your guests will fawn over this easy to make dessert. Enjoy!
Oreo Cookie crumbs form the pie crust.
Crumble the Oreo cookie crumbs in a food processor with the sugar and then the butter. Press cookie crumb crust into the pie tin using another pie tin on top to press into shape.
Pretty green crème de menthe against the yellow eggs are the base of the custard.
Whisk the custard constantly in a double boiler or a metal bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until it thickens.
Cool the custard in an ice bath.
Folding custard into whipped cream.
Whip cream and fold in crème de menthe mixture.
Filling ready for the chocolate pie shell.
Filling ready to go into pie shell.
Refrigerate pie for at least four hours. Prepare chocolate shavings by using a carrot peeler to shave from a block of good chocolate. A good trick for shaving the chocolate is to microwave VERY CAREFULLY the block of chocolate on LOW power for 5 or 10 seconds at a time to soften it slightly. The chocolate should still be hard. You don’t want the chocolate to melt at all!
Sprinkle on chocolate shavings just before serving. Get ready for oohs and ahs.
Grasshopper Pie
Crust
- 1 1/2 cups fine chocolate wafer crumbs (about 30 wafers)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup butter, melted (1/2 stick)
Filling
- 1 1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin
- 1 1/3 cups heavy cream (chilled)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup Creme de Menthe
- 1/4 cup Creme de Cacao
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 chunk good quality bittersweet chocolate
1. Make the crust: In a bowl, stir together the cookie crumbs, the sugar and the butter until the mixture is combined well, pat the mixture onto the bottom and up the side of a 9-inch pie plate. Use another pie plate to press the crumbs into place and remove to bake. Bake the crust in the middle of a preheated 450° oven for 5 minutes. Let the crust cool.
2. Make the filling: In a double boiler pan or a metal bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 1/3 cup of the cream and let it soften for 5 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, creme de menthe, creme de cacao and egg yolks. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook the mixture, whisking constantly until it thickens or registers 160° on a candy thermometer. Transfer the bowl to a larger bowl of ice and cold water and stir the mixture until it is cooled and thickened.
3. In another bowl, beat the remaining 1 cup cream until it holds stiff peaks and fold it into the creme de menthe mixture thoroughly.
4. Pour the filling into the crust and chill the pie for 4 hours or until it is set. Sprinkle the chocolate shavings over the pie.
Servings: 8 450 calories per serving
Preparation Time: 30 minutes Cooking Time: 5 minutes Total Time: 4 hours and 35 minutes
Oven Temperature: 450°
Grasshopper Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/2 cups fine chocolate wafer crumbs about 30 wafers
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup butter melted (1/2 stick)
Filling
- 1 1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin
- 1 1/3 cups heavy cream chilled
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup Creme de Menthe
- 1/4 cup Creme de Cacao
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 chunk good quality bittersweet chocolate
Instructions
- Make the crust: In a bowl, stir together the cookie crumbs, the sugar and the butter until the mixture is combined well, pat the mixture onto the bottom and up the side of a 9-inch pie plate. Use another pie plate to press the crumbs into place and remove to bake. Bake the crust in the middle of a preheated 450° oven for 5 minutes. Let the crust cool.
- Make the filling: In a double boiler pan or a metal bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 1/3 cup of the cream and let it soften for 5 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, creme de menthe, creme de cacao and egg yolks. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook the mixture, whisking constantly until it thickens or registers 160° on a candy thermometer. Transfer the bowl to a larger bowl of ice and cold water and stir the mixture until it is cooled and thickened.
- In another bowl, beat the remaining 1 cup cream until it holds stiff peaks and fold it into the creme de menthe mixture thoroughly.
- Pour the filling into the crust and chill the pie for 4 hours or until it is set. Sprinkle the chocolate shavings over the pie.
- ENJOY THIS RECIPE FROM FreshFoodinaFlash.com
Nutrition
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I have to admit I have never had a grasshopper pie. Looks so interesting. It will go on my food “bucket list”.
It’s fun eh?? and sinfully delicious! Enjoy!