Wednesday, October 27, 2010

When a campfire isn't available...

S'Mores Pie
I may have alluded to the fact that sometimes as an American living in Ireland, I get a hankering for something you just can’t find here. The longer I live here, the less it happens, but when it does – well I would do almost anything to feed the craving. Recently at girls night my friend Jill and I were enthusiastically telling our friends about the beauty of the S’More: Classic, simple, always delicious and rarely disappoints. The problem? In Ireland you cannot get graham crackers or American style marshmallows and the Hershey chocolate you can find is really expensive. Being a WW though I always try to keep a secret stash of Graham Crackers on hand (I bring them in my carry on when I fly back to Dublin)!
Imagine my girlish delight when I saw the recipe below on the Virtual Goody Plate . It’s a new twist on an old favourite and requires similar but not exactly the same ingredients (something Ireland is very good at). I knew I had to try it and trust me when I say I was not disappointed. Served warm it’s gooey and delicious. Chill the leftovers overnight and the next day it takes on a candybar like quality. I know we will be having this again. Don’t be intimidated by the length of the recipe either – it’s surprisingly simple and so worth the effort!
Combine the crust ingredients (I am lazy so I did this step in the pie pan)
Shape the well mixed crust around the pan. Immediately lick whatever buttery crumby goodness is left on your fingers. Put in the over for 10-12 minutes and then cool. I stuck mine in the freezer to hurry the process, but I am always looking for shortcuts!
Heat the butter and the milk on the stove top. While this is heating chop your chocolate. I didn’t chop mine small enough (see above: laziness) and it made it harder to combine in the next step. My advice – do as I say and not as I do.
Pour the hot milk/butter mixture over the chopped chocolate

Stir and be amazed at the creamy goodness you have in front of you. Let this cool completely and then pour into your cooled pie crust. The recipe says to chill overnight – I stuck it in the freezer for 90 minutes. I can see the benefits to chilling overnight, but the pie still tasted awesome.
Add your Marshmallows, trying not to play the one for the pie, one for the mouth game. Put in oven and watch carefully – they can go from white to burnt in a nanosecond!
Pull your masterpiece out of the oven and get ready to be blown away!
S'mores Pie
Crust
1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 1 plastic wrapped package of crackers)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
5 T unsalted butter, melted

Filling
5 oz. premium dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup whole milk
2 T unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Topping
18 large, fresh purchased marshmallows

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, mix the graham crumbs, sugar and melted butter until well blended and crumbly. Transfer to a 9-inch freezer-to-oven pie pan and lightly press onto the bottom of the pan. Bake until set and fragrant, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature.

2. Place the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl . In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk and butter until the butter is melted and small bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Stir to combine. Pour the hot milk mixture over the chocolate. Let stand for several minutes, then stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the salt and vanilla until blended. Let cool completely. Pour into the crust and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.

3 Heat the oven broiler to low. Cut each marshmallow in half crosswise and arrange the halves, cut side down, to cover the top of the pie. Place the pie on the lowest rack of the oven until the marshmallows toast. Watch carefully; once they start to brown, they toast quickly. Serve while the marshmallows are still warm.

Recipe from Deep Dark Chocolate: Decadent Recipes for the Serious Chocolate Lover by Sara Perry

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