Pie Crust and a Chocolate Chess Pie
(A Tale of Two Recipes)
A long time ago a friend gave me a recipe for a simple piecrust. It was easy and it always worked, yet somehow in the modern era of food processors and decent quality frozen pie crusts, I forgot about it. But my sister Mary did not. We were riding around town one day and I asked her if she had any ideas for something for the blog. She said everyone will be so excited if you do the piecrust. I had to ask her to send the recipe to me…I hadn’t thought about it in years. But she is right, it’s going to make you so happy to have this one in your list of can- do menus.
It works for everything, a pie, a quiche, mini tarts, sweet, savory – you name it. It may not be the most beautiful crust – edges are hard to crimp – but it will definitely be delicious and no one will say that it isn’t as pretty as one from the store. In fact, they won’t notice because it tastes so good. It tastes good because it’s mostly butter. Here is all you do, melt seven tablespoons of butter with two tablespoons of milk over medium heat– advanced technology would allow you use the microwave, but my sister – who has continued to make this for years – insists that the stovetop is the way to go.
Take the melted butter off the heat and stir in a cup of flour and ¼ teaspoon of salt. That’s it – you have a crust. It doesn’t get any easier. Just pat it into your pan of choice It can be doubled for two pies, it works in a tart pan, I’ve even used it in an 8 x 8 pan to make pies cut into little bite-sized squares. Make this and thank my sister for reminding me.
About that chocolate chess pie…
It is distressing that many people seem to think that a fudge pie – is a chocolate chess pie. It is not. A fudge pie (recipe in cookbook 1 (You’re Grown – Now You Can Cook, p. 152) and on Talk of the Town, is mostly melted chocolate with butter, sugar, and eggs. A chocolate chess pie should rely on cocoa powder with butter, sugar eggs, and evaporated milk. It is more of a custard – like a regular chess pie. They are both delicious. Warm fudge pie and ice cream – peppermint in season – is a marvelous thing, but a chocolate chess pie should be rich and creamy enough to stand alone as its own bit of decadence – plus served cool or at room temperature. You have the recipe for fudge pie, now add this Chocolate Chess Pie to the recipe file and make it very soon. Use the easy crust – you’ll love it and everyone will be over the moon about a homemade pie crust. Enjoy!
Pie Crust
Ingredients
7 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp milk
I cup flour
¼ tsp salt
Directions
Melt butter and milk together over medium heat.
Stir in flour and salt.
Press into a pie pan and follow directions for baking the pie.
Chocolate Chess Pie (Printable Recipe)
Ingredients
4 Tbsp melted butter
½ cup evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cups sugar
¼ cup cocoa powder
2 Tbsp flour
¼ tsp salt
Pie crust – unbaked
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, combine wet ingredients, butter through vanilla.
Mix in sugar, cocoa powder, flour and salt.
Bake in an unbaked pie crust for about 30 minutes until set.
Cool before slicing.
Please come and enjoy the day at Green Door’s Holiday Open House (click for more info) next Sunday the 18th. I will be doing a demonstration of a quick snack and an edible and fun Christmas gift packaged to go.
