A chocolatey cookie crust lined with rich chocolate ganache and filled with fluffy mint cream filling!
Happy Pi Day, everybody!
And no, I didn’t forget how to spell one of the MOST important words in the dictionary. I’m talking about the mathematical “Pi”, of course! Since Pi equals 3.14 (plus a million other numbers), that would make today, March 14th, Pi Day.
Even though math was always my least favorite subject in school, I’m glad that Pi Day gives me a great excuse to stuff my face with one of my favorite desserts–PIE. And with St. Patrick’s Day just a few short days away, I’m positive that I have the perfect dessert to celebrate the occasion!
Although the title might not suggest it, this Grasshopper Pie is absolutely exquisite! With a crispy chocolate cookie crust, rich chocolate ganache, and a lusciously minty mousse-like filling, this pie has mouthwatering written ALL over it.
To make things even better, this pie requires absolutely no stove or oven, making it a cinch to make. To start things off, you’ll make the crust by crushing up some Oreos and tossing them with some melted butter. Once this mixture has been pressed evenly into a pie dish, it’s time to work on the ganache.
The ganache is even easier to make. All you have to do is pour some heavy cream into a microwave-safe dish (I use a glass measuring cup), and heat it in the microwave until it just begins to boil, about a minute or so. You can also heat the cream in a small saucepan over the stove, but the microwave method is much quicker and requires less dishes.
Once the heavy cream is nice and hot, pour it over some semi-sweet chocolate chips, allowing the heat of the cream to melt the chocolate. After 2-3 minutes, the chocolate should be soft enough to stir the mixture smooth. Pour 3/4 of the ganache right into the crust and smooth it out evenly. The remaining ganache will be used for drizzling on top. The crust needs to chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes so that the ganache layer can firm up before the mint filling goes on top of it.
Now, according to Wikipedia, this pie gets its name from the Grasshopper cocktail, thus it usually contains white crème de cacao and crème de menthe. Although I do love my sugary liqueurs, I wanted to keep this pie non-alcoholic. So instead of using white crème de cacao, I melted some white chocolate and cream together and incorporated it into the pie filling. And instead of using crème de menthe, I simply added some mint extract.
As far as food coloring goes, I used Wilton’s gel colors in the shade Kelly Green. I originally started with the basic food coloring drops you get in most stores, but the green drops created more of a lime green shade. Call me nit-picky, but to me, mint should have more of a blueish green hue–not yellowish green. Anyway, I’m pretty sure I’m making this a WAY bigger deal than it should be, but if you’re a fusspot like myself, consider this your forewarning about the green food coloring.
Once the mint filling is in the crust, the pie needs to chill in the refrigerator for a MINIMUM of 4 hours. In fact, if you can make this pie the night before you serve it and allow it to sit in the refrigerate overnight, even better!
To decorate the pie, you’ll take your reserved ganache (reheat in the microwave if solidified) and drizzle it all over the pie. Go ahead, let your inner Jackson Pollock out! And to up the creamy ante, pipe a nice FAT border of whipped cream along the edges of the pie.
For the finishing touches, sprinkle some chocolate curls all over the whipped cream border. To do this, just take any kind of chocolate bar (I used Hershey’s Special Dark), and use a vegetable peeler to shave off some curls.
Tip: It’s easier to achieve fuller curls if the chocolate is room temperature. If it’s too cold, the chocolate tends to break off rather than curl.
Blissfully creamy, refreshingly minty, and undeniably dreamy, this Grasshopper Pie is guaranteed to make those taste buds do a joyful Irish jig!
Grasshopper Pie
Ingredients
Crust:
- 22 Oreos
- 4 Tablespoons butter, melted
Ganache:
- 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
Mint Filling:
- 1 ½ cup heavy cream divided
- 12 ounces cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon mint extract
- Green food coloring (I used Wilton's Kelly Green)
- 8 ounces white chocolate
Whipped Cream:
- 1 cup whipping cream
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For Decorating:
- Chocolate Curls*
Instructions
Make the Crust:
- Crush the Oreos in a food processor until finely ground. Pour into a mixing bowl with the butter and use a fork to combine. Press mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9-inch pie pan; refrigerate.
Make the Ganache:
- Place the chocolate chips into a medium bowl. Pour the heavy cream into a glass measuring cup, and heat in the microwave until it just begins to boil. Pour hot cream over the chocolate, cover with plastic wrap, and allow it to sit for 1-2 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap and stir until smooth. Pour 3/4 of the ganache into the crust, smoothing out evenly. Place in the refrigerator to allow ganache to firm and set up.
Make the Filling:
- In the chilled bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat 1 cup of the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Transfer whipped cream to a separate bowl and return bowl to mixer.
- Switch the whisk attachment out for the paddle attachment and beat the cream cheese on high until smooth and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla and mint extract.
- In a separate bowl, combine the white chocolate and remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Heat in the microwave, stopping and stirring every 15 seconds, until mixture is smooth.
- Pour the melted chocolate into the mixer with the cream cheese mixture and beat until combined. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the whipped cream.
- Pour filling into the pie crust and smooth out evenly with a spatula. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
Make the Whipped Cream:
- In the chilled bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla on high until stiff peaks form. Transfer whipped cream to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
To Decorate:
- Drizzle the remaining ganache over the pie. Pipe a border of whipped cream along the edges of the pie. Sprinkle chocolate curls on top.