St. Patty’s Day Grasshopper Pie

Saint Patrick’s Day is just around the corner and boy are we excited!

I couldn’t be more proud of my Irish heritage. As a child, I remember interrogating my young classmates about their Kiss Me, I’m Irish pins, demanding to know if they were really Irish and then triumphantly proclaiming that I, in fact, was really Irish. Top that, second grader!

The existence of a holiday devoted to celebrating all things Irish has surely contributed to my bloated sense of Irish pride. I may be somewhat delusional, but I have a sneaking suspicion that all people wish they were at least a little Irish. My husband, who can not count Ireland amongst his countries of origin, tries to argue that he must be Irish, since he has Irish children. His persistence about inheriting an Irish background from our children, is further proof of my theory that all people wish they were Irish…at least on St. Patty’s Day!

We’ve got a few yummy things lined up for this year’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration. There will be corned beef and cabbage, of course, with boiled potatoes and carrots. The kids and I will also be baking fresh Irish soda bread with raisins, which we’ll lather with Irish butter. And for dessert, we’re having perfectly minty Grasshopper Pie! We’ll start with a chocolate cookie crust, which we’ll fill with a rich layer of dark chocolate peppermint pudding. Bright green whipped cream and crushed Grasshopper cookies will add the finishing touches.

Grasshopper Pie

Ingredients

• 1 chocolate cookie pie crust
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 Tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 2 cups whipped cream or Cool Whip
• Green food coloring
• 5-6 Grasshopper or Thin Mint cookies, crushed

Directions

In a saucepan, mix together sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, and salt. Whisk in 1 cup of milk, stirring until combined. Whisk in the remaining 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of cream. Continue whisking over medium heat until the mixture begins to bubble and thicken, about 5 minutes. Whisking constantly, continue cooking for another minute or two. Be careful to whisk into the corners and along the sides of the pan. Remove from heat. Whisk in the chocolate chips and peppermint extract, stirring until fully melted. Pour the pudding into the pie shell. Refrigerate until cooled completely. Add a few drops of green food coloring to the whipped cream. Spread the whipped cream over the cooled pudding. Garnish with crushed cookies.