There is not denying it, as much as we don’t want it to be true (well I don’t at least) Summer is coming to an end and Fall is upon us. As much as I will miss pool parties and ice cream weather, I do really love the change in temperature and the feeling of Fall. It inspires me to slow down and spend more cozy time at home. It also gets me in the mood to bake and one thing I really love baking in the Fall is pie!
This pie is my in between seasons pie – Grasshopper Pie. It is light and fresh so it reminds me of Summer, but the crust is so decadent and chocolate-y which makes me feel like Fall. Grasshopper pie is a fun, nostalgic treat that was popular in the 1950’s and 60’s. You may remember your mom or grandma whipping it up, I do. It gets its name from the green color that usually comes from using green crème de menthe or green food coloring in the filling. While I love the funky retro color I also like that you can adapt this recipe to use better for you ingredients with no funky stuff.
Traditionally this is a chiffon pie made with a cookie crust and I’m keeping up with tradition using Otis Spunkmeyer Double Chocolate Cookie to make the cookie pie crust. This cookie crust is super easy to make. It requires 1¼ cups of cookie crumbs – 6 Otis Spunkmeyer Double Chocolate Cookies (1 box) – plus 5 tablespoons of melted butter.
Pulse the cookies in a food processor until they form a crumb mixture. Pour the cookie crumbs into a mixing bowl and add the melted butter. Mix this together until it is combined. Press the double chocolate cookie mixture into a pie pan evenly. Place this into the refrigerator and chill to harden.
The filling requires fresh mint, cream, marshmallows and mint extract. You can choose to use crème de menthe and a few drops of food coloring if you are so inclined in place of the mint extract and fresh mint that I am suggesting.
Steep together the milk and the mint. Heat together the strained mint milk with marshmallows to form a smooth marshmallow mixture.Whip up some heavy cream to form soft peaks and mix in the marshmallow mixture. Spread the filling into the chilled chocolate pie crust base and chill.
This recipe can be made a few hours ahead or the day before you want to enjoy it. It doesn’t require much and provides so much pie joy. Next time you are feeling nostalgic or just feeling like some pie, go grab some Otis Spunkmeyer Cookies and make yourself at Grasshopper Pie. It will be well worth it!
AND if you need more of a reason to bake yourself a cookie crust pie – Otis Spunkmeyer has teamed up with No Kid Hungry this back to school season, with limited time “go orange” packaging on all three of their delicious cookies. For every carton of these cookies purchased, $0.25 cents will be donated to No Kid Hungry, bringing us one step closer to helping hungry children across the country have access to the healthy foods they need.
Otis Spunkmeyer Double Chocolate Cookie Grasshopper Pie
Ingredients
Crust:
6 Otis Spunkmeyer Double Chocolate Cookies (reserve some cookie crumbs for decorating your pie)
5 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
Filling:
3 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon mint extract
Directions
Process the Otis Spunkmeyer Double Chocolate Cookies in a food processor until they form a crumb mixture. Pour the cookie crumbs into a mixing bowl and add the melted butter. Mix this together until it is combined.
Press the mixture into a pie pan, making a smooth base and sides with your hands or the back of a spoon. Put this into the refrigerator to chill to harden. In a saucepan over low gentle heat, heat the whole milk with the fresh mint leaves. Once the milk starts to foam take off of heat and set aside. Allow to steep together for 20 minutes.
Strain the mint from the milk and place milk back into the saucepan over low gentle heat. Add the marshmallows to the saucepan and heat. Once the milk starts to foam (not boil), take off the heat and keep stirring until the marshmallows melt into the milk.
Pour the mixture out into a heatproof bowl, then whisk in the mint extract. Leave until cool.
In a medium bowl, whisk the cream until it starts to hold soft peaks. Once soft peaks are form, while still whisking, add the cooled marshmallow mixture. This filling should be thick but still soft, not dry, so that it is easy to scoop out of the bowl into the chilled pie crust.
Spread the filling into the chilled chocolate pie crust base, swirling it about with a spatula to fill evenly. Put the pie in the refrigerator, covered, to chill overnight or for a minimum of 4 hours until firm.
Take the remaining crushed cookie and sprinkle it over the top of the pie, add a garnish of fresh mint if desired. Serve.
I’m proud to partner with Otis Spunkmeyer for this Grasshopper Pie recipe. While I am being sponsored by Otis Spunkmeyer for my posts and activities, all opinions expressed are my own, and all claims or program details shared should be verified at OtisSpunkmeyer.com or with the appropriate manufacturers.
Sweet Somethings: