Grandpa Bob’s Favorite Chocolate Pie (With Dairy Free Option) ~ Family

In the late 1970's, I found this recipe in a magazine. The first 

time that I made it, I found out that it was my Dad's favorite pie.

Ingredients:
1 (9") baked pie shell or crumb crust (see recipes below)
1/2 cup unsweetened regular or dark cocoa powder
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk**
3 tablespoon butter**
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

sweetened whipped cream (optional)

1/8 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Method:
Combine cocoa, sugar, salt, cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Gradually blend milk into dry ingredients, stirring until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until filling boils. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat; blend in butter and vanilla. Pour into pie crust. Carefully press plastic wrap directly onto pie filling. 

Cool. Chill 3 to 4 hours. If desired, garnish with whipped cream and a few mini chocolate chips.

Notes: If preferred, the filling can be added to a graham cracker crust, instead of a traditional pie crust. To make pudding, instead of pie, increase the milk to 3 ½ cups and pour the chocolate mixture into bowls. Press plastic wrap on top.  (For a 10 inch pie, increase the ingredients for the filling by 50%.)

Graham Cracker Crust

Ingredients:
! 1/2 cups finely ground graham crackers
1/3 cup sugar
6 Tablespoons butter**

Method:
Preheat oven to 375*. Place butter in medium microwave bowl. Microwave, for 25  second intervals, just until the butter is melted. Add graham crackers and sugar and mix until well blended. Press mixture into a 9 inch pie pan. Bake at 375* for 7 minutes. Cool.

**For a dairy free pie, or pudding, I use coconut milk, but any nut, hemp or flax milk will work. The butter may be omitted from the chocolate filling and coconut oil may be substituted for the butter in a crumb crust.

Perfect Pie Crust

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup of 1/2 butter & 1/2 shortening

3 - 4 tablespoons chilled water

Method:

Preheat oven to 450*. In a mixing bowl, sift together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, or two knives, cut in butter and shortening until pieces are the size of small pies. Next, use your fingers to continue mixing until the flour resembles cornmeal. 

Sprinkle one tablespoon of the water over a part of the flour mixture and gently toss with a fork.  Push to side of bowl. Repeat until all of the flour is moistened. Form the dough into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, flatten the dough with your hands. Roll dough from the center to the edges, forming a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Wrap pastry around rolling pin. Unroll from pin over a 9 inch pie pan. Ease dough into the pie pan, while being careful not to stretch the pastry. Trim dough to a 1/2 inch beyond the edge of the pie plate, folding under extra pastry around the edge. Use fingers to pinch dough into a scalloped edge. Generously prick the bottom and sides of dough with the tines of a fork. Bake for 10 -12 minutes, until light golden brown. Place on a rack to cool.