Lunch: Grasshopper Pie

Here's a refreshing idea: Take a classic chocolate-and-mint cocktail, whip it with cream, chill it in a pie shell, and serve it for dessert. That was the inspiration behind grasshopper pie — a favorite of Southern hostesses in the 1950s and '60s. We've up

Ingredients

6 tbsp. unsalted butter
3/4 c. shredded sweetened coconut
1 1/2 c. crushed chocolate wafer cookies
1/2 c. sugar
2 1/2 c. heavy cream
1 c. loosely packed mint leaves
3 tbsp. Green Creme de Menthe
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
5 large egg yolks
1 bar semisweet chocolate
Freshly whipped cream

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9-inch pie plate. Whisk together coconut, cookie crumbs, and 1/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl. Add melted butter, and stir until well combined. Press crumb mixture into pie plate. Bake until just set, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool completely.
Meanwhile, bring 1 1/2 cups cream and the mint just to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat; cover. Let steep 15 minutes. Pour the mixture through a fine sieve into a glass measuring cup. Discard the mint, and set cream aside. Beat the remaining cup cream in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form; cover, and refrigerate.
Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Put creme de menthe in a medium heatproof bowl, and sprinkle with gelatin. Let stand 5 minutes to soften. Whisk together egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in another medium bowl; set aside. Add steeped cream to gelatin mixture, whisking until well combined.
Set bowl with cream mixture over a pan of simmering water. Cook, whisking constantly, until the gelatin is dissolved and mixture is hot to the touch, about 1 minute. Whisking constantly, pour hot cream mixture in a slow, steady stream into egg-yolk mixture. Return mixture to heatproof bowl; set over pan of simmering water. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is slightly thickened and registers 150 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 10 minutes.
Transfer bowl to ice-water bath; whisk until mixture thickens to the consistency of pudding, about 2 minutes. Remove bowl from bath. Add one-third of reserved whipped cream; whisk until combined. Gently fold in remaining whipped cream with a rubber spatula.
Spoon mixture into pie crust; refrigerate until set, 45 minutes to 1 hour (or up to 1 day). Just before serving, scrape a chef's knife along surface of chocolate bar to make shavings. Spoon dollops of whipped cream onto pie, if desired, and top with chocolate shavings. Looking for more dessert ideas? Check out our homemade chocolate chip cookie recipes, apple pie recipes, and chocolate cake recipes.