Chipped Chocolate Pie (revised)

A year ago today I posted this recipe for the first time. The final product wasn't completely correct because I didn't know what I was doing. This time I had help from my cousin, The Muffin Man.

This particular recipe was known as Grammie's. At her funeral her sister was overheard laying claim to it. Another sister had never heard of it and was learning something new about Grammie.

It's called a Chipped Chocolate Pie. This is different from a chocolate chip pie in that two of the words are switched. Also, you're supposed to shave your own chocolate instead of using a bag of chips.

For the crust you'll either need:
16 graham crackers, crushed
1/3 cup butter
OR
1 graham cracker crust

For the contents you'll need:
30 large marshmallows
1 cup heavy whipping cream - Whipped
1/4 cup hot milk
1 ounce (1/2 square) semisweet chocolate, grated

The crust
I made the crust the first time and went the easy route the second. I recommend trying to make your own at some point. I found it rather interesting. And when you make your own you have some leftover crumbs to sprinkle on top.
Set aside 2 tablespoons of smashed cracker to put on the top of the pie later. Mix the rest in with the melted 1/3 cup of butter. At first you'll have some really buttery crumbs and lots of not at all buttery crumbs, but just keep stirring and it'll even out. The butter serves to help make the cracker crumbs sculptable. Then line the pie pan with the buttery crumbs. They don't pack well. Not by hand. My brother says I should have used a second pie pan to pack the crust better. Even if you don't it'll be fine. Mostly you're just wanting something to make sure the pie filling comes away from the pan.
If I were doing it again I'd probably use more butter. But maybe the second pan would do the same job.

The filling
Last time I wanted a double boiler that I didn't have. Turns out I don't need it.
Put the 30 marshmallows and the milk in a bowl. This should leave you enough marshmallows in the bag to snack on or pay off nosy family members.
The bowl went in the microwave. 30 seconds and stir, 30 seconds and stir, repeat until the marshmallows are melted. Should only take a minute and a half to two minutes. Then it was stirred with a fork to help it cool. Sort of a lift and drop movement. To give it surface area to cool better. Pour a bit over your finger to test the temperature. You're shooting for the room temperature neighborhood.

Get some kind of grater to use on the chocolate. The squares we used were 2 oz. We needed half of one square. Expect to leave some knuckle in there. If the final pie is pink then you left too much knuckle.

The whipping cream sat in the fridge overnight. Partially because it's dairy and we weren't using it immediately and partially because it's my understanding that it whips better that way. It should also help with what comes later. Blenders are your friends. I introduced air in my first one with a fork, but it wasn't enough. A blender got it nice and foamy and to a point where a hole was left when I took the beaters out. That's what you want. Something that can be shaped and formed a bit.

You're supposed to let the marshmallows cool for a little while. Another mistake from the first try was not letting the molten marshmallows cool enough. It melted the chocolate. This time it was allowed to sit while the cream was whipped. Then the marshmallow ooze was poured slowly, a bit at a time, into the whipped cream. Then I folded the cream over itself again and again until the marshmallow was mixed in. We repeated this a few times and then stopped. The foam in the cream doesn't hold up well when it's hot. When about half the marshmallow was folded in we put the mix in the fridge so it could cool down. Then we continued. After all the marshmallow is folded into the cream, fold in the chipped chocolate.

Pour all that in the pie crust.
Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs you set aside on top of the filling. If you don't have extra crumbs some chocolate or cocoa would do well, too.
Throw that mess into the fridge for a few hours. Preferably overnight.

pie

The pie was a success. It always is. At the family gatherings we have to cut it thin to make sure as many people as possible get some. I think everyone got a slice. Since it was a special occasion I think everyone wanted to make sure that everyone got at least some of the pie.

Note from The Muffin Man:
other delicious variations include: use a oreo crust instead of graham cracker, try adding in 6-8 chopped up cherries, try adding in 1 or 2 crushed small candy canes, drizzle top with chocolate syrup or fudge