Chocolate Pie

So with the Oscars last weekend I saw a post for Minny's Chocolate Pie from The Help. (The original recipe appeared in the August 2011 Food & Wine issue.) I thought it looked like it could be really good, so I got around to making it today. I mostly followed the directions, but baked it like I usually do for a custard pie. I'm just not a fan of blind baking. I expected this to be a chocolatey custard pie. Wow was I surprised and delighted by the way this fudgy chocolate pie tasted, with a thin crisp layer on the top of the pie and gooey, yet fully set chocolate filling. And it did not really seem custardy either, I think to the appreciation of my guys. We served it with whipped cream and the remaining pieces' minutes are numbered.

I used my standard pie crust, although I have been tweaking that one too. Sorry Great-Grandma Genevieve. This was always a never-fail pie crust, but over the last several years it hasn't rolled as easily as I remembered (darn Crisco changing the formula). So a while ago I tried doing the crust with lard instead of shortening. It rolled like a dream the way I remembered it working when my mom made the crust when I was little. Over the last few years I have had to add extra flour because it was too sticky and it just didn't roll well. It was much more apt to tear. With lard all my troubles went away. The texture was flaky like we wanted. The only drawback was it tasted a bit oily. Today I only had about 1/3 lard for the recipe and used shortening for the rest. The crust worked better than with just shortening and the taste was much more to our liking. I think half and half would work well for taste and ease of use.

Minny’s Chocolate Pie
Ingredients:
9-inch pie crust, unbaked
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tablespoons sweet butter, melted
2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
Whipped cream, for serving

Directions
Preheat oven to 450°.
In a bowl, whisk sugar with cocoa powder, butter, eggs, evaporated milk, vanilla and salt until smooth.
Pour filling into pie shell and bake for about 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350° and bake another 30 minutes or until filling is set around edges but a little jiggly in the center. Cover the crust with strips of foil halfway through baking, if desired.
Transfer pie to rack and let cool completely before cutting into wedges.
Serve with whipped cream.

Minny's Chocolate Pie can be refrigerated overnight.

Mini-Monsters (Cookies)

There's a recipe from Kraft for Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies. They remind me a lot of Monster Cookies. But I just don't want such a big cookie. So I tweaked this one a bit and used mini-M&M's and you get the big taste of Monster Cookies in a reasonably sized cookie.

Mini-Monsters

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats (quick or old-fashioned)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup mini-M&Ms
1 cup chocolate chips (mini or standard)

Cream sugars, butter, and brown sugar. In another bowl mix flour, oats, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add eggs to butter and sugar mixture one at a time. Gradually add dry ingredients. Mix in M&Ms and chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoons onto cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes, until just starting to brown around the edges. Cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

Easy Chocolate Cake

This is a family favorite from my husband's family. He used to request this cake every year.

Easy Chocolate Cake


1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
3 tbsp. cocoa
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. cold water
1/2 c. liquid shortening (vegetable oil)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. vinegar

Mix all ingredients. Pour into small ungreased cake pan (double for 9 x 13 pan). (I think if I use an 11 x 7 pan it fits, but the frosting runs over.) Bake @ 325 for 25-30 minutes

Frosting

1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. butter
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. milk
2 tbsp. cocoa

Stir together. Bring to rolling boil. Cook 2 min. Remove from heat. Beat until spreadable. (I think doing this now I would add the vanilla after removing from heat. I seem to remember beating it with a wooden spoon and then pouring over the cake while it is still hot. A fair amount of frosting soaks into the cake.)

Honey Walnut Cookies

So I came across a recipe for Honey Walnut Cookies over on Baking Bites the other day. They looked really good so I just had to try them out. They are good with a rich honey flavor. The only complaint I may have is they have an oily taste to me. I'm thinking I would make them again with butter instead of with vegetable oil (I used canola oil so maybe that's my problem). I made a double batch so the boys didn't revolt when we ran out right away. I think they will be a hit. The real test will be from our niece who believes she doesn't like nuts, although I just keep feeding them to her anyway. I used a #60 portion scoop and got 43 cookies. Other than doubling the recipe, I followed the original directions. This is what I think I'll do next time:

Honey Walnut Cookies

2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts

Cream butter and brown sugar. Add honey and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix to combine. Stir in walnuts. Roll into 1 inch balls or use a portion scoop. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Cool on sheet for 2-3 minutes then remove to wire rack.

Shrimp Dip

Shrimp Dip

1 small pkg. salad shrimp (or use small shrimp lightly chopped)
2-8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 bottle Heinz cocktail sauce
3 tbsp. Worchestershire sauce

Mix shrimp, onion, Worchestershire sauce, and 3 tbsp. cocktail sauce. Fold in cream cheese.

Layer bottom a glass dish with cocktail sauce (I use an 8"x8" Pyrex dish). Spoon in cream cheese mixture, spread out. Top with a small amount of cocktail sauce. Refrigerate 6 hrs. or overnight. Serve with crackers.

Spinach Dip

Spinach Dip

1 12 oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained well
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip)
1 pkg. vegetable soup mix
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 can water chestnuts, drained and chopped

Chop all ingredients finely and mix. Refrigerate 6 hours or overnight.

My sister-in-law likes to serves this inside a hollowed out round loaf of bread. Then serve with the chunks of bread and raw veggies.

Bean Dip

We hosted an open house yesterday and made lots of munchie food. After requests for some of the recipes I figured I ought to post them to share. Here's an old favorite.

Bean Dip

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, diced
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 can green chilies (optional)
1 can refried beans
1 can Armour No Bean Chili (the Walmart store brand works, but we don't like Hormel)
1 lb. Velveeta
1 lb. Mexican Velveeta (I often just use a 2 lb. pkg. of Mexican Velveeta)

Brown the ground beef with the onion. Add green chilies if using. Mix in taco seasoning according to pkg. directions. (This can be done ahead.)

In a 3 qt. Crock Pot, mix together the taco meat, refried beans, and chili. Cook on high for an hour. Add Velveeta (if in a time crunch skip the hour of cooking and just add the cheese). Stir occasionally. Once the cheese has melted, turn down to low and serve with tortilla chips.