Fudgie Chocolate Pie

(by Lenore Hart)

Original Fudgie Chocolate Pie

Crust:

1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs

1/3 c. white sugar

6 T. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Combine cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar in a mixing bowl; mix until well blended.

Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a round 9-in. pie pan.

Bake for 7 minutes. Allow to cool completely before adding the filling.

Filling:

4 oz. semisweet baking chocolate

1/2 c. margarine

14 oz. sweetened condensed milk

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 c. whole milk

1 t. vanilla extract

1/8 t. salt

Lower oven to 350 F.

In heavy saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate and margarine. Remove from heat.

In a large mixing bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk and warm chocolate mixture, mixing well.

Quickly stir in eggs, milk, vanilla, and salt.

Bake 35 - 40 minutes.

Cool, chill, top with Cool Whip, and serve.  

Revised Fudgie Chocolate Pie, which I kept changing over the years

Topping:

Substitute real cream for the Cool Whip:

Pour 1 pt. heavy whipping cream into a mixing bowl; add sugar to taste (I tend to use very little, maybe 1 T.)

Beat on low speed at first, slowly raising the speed to high, and whip until it develops firm peaks. Then spoon atop cooled, chilled chocolate pie.

Filling: I prefer the slightly less-sweet taste of the pie when made with bittersweet chocolate. And I use Irish butter, not margarine.

Crust:

I add 1/2 t. cinnamon to the graham cracker crust, and substitute turbinado sugar for white sugar.

Once we discovered my daughter and I were both gluten-intolerant, back in the mid-2000s, I started buying finely-ground gluten-free graham cracker crumbs, or I ground up gluten-free graham crackers myself. This recipe is also good with a gluten-free nut crust, substituting about 1/2 c. finely ground pecans for the same amount of cracker crumbs. Be sure to still prebake the crust; it will hold together better.

More variations:

Coconut and chopped pecans can be used to top the pie filling just before baking, then bake the usual time or a little bit more, until the shredded coconut is golden brown. Then you can omit the whipped cream if you like, or just go for everything at once.       

(Read The Darkness of Chocolate Pie, the story that accompanies this recipe.)