Grandma Martin's Christmas Freezer Peppermint Pie

By Kevin Williams

Colorful candy canes are a pepperminty part of the Christmas season.  The striped sticks get handed out at parades, by shopping mall Santas, and adorn trees.  My 4-year-old daughter loves candy canes...really, what kid doesn't.  Peppermint brings out the kid in all of us.

But what if you put that peppermint into a pie? This is actually a Mennonite recipe I found in an out of print collection of recipes does just that.  The pie has quite a few steps, but it's doable and it makes a wonderfully festive treat for the holidays.

Thank you recipe tester Barb T. in Missouri for testing this out for us.  She said the pie was outstanding and her husband thought it smelled, looked, and tasted amazing.  You can serve the pie frozen or just chilled if you like, but do serve it cold and store in the fridge or freezer.

The chocolate, the peppermint, the marshmallows, all of these are gathered to marry into one delightful pie!

Putting it all together.

And here is one amazing looking pie!

Wow!

GRANDMA MARTIN'S CANDY CANE PIE

CHOCOLATE CRUST
2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (60 wafers or an 8 oz box minus ¼ c)
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
⅓ cup confectioners’ sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted

Chocolate Filling Layer
3 tablespoons water
¾ cup chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream (Note, when you purchase the cream remember you will need additional cream for the topping.)
½ cup confectioners’ sugar

Peppermint Layer
1 ½ cups miniature marshmallows
¼ cup milk
1 cup heavy cream (½ pint)
½ cup finely crushed candy cane (7 regular canes)
sweetened whipped cream, for toping
Directions:

Chocolate Crumb Crust: Combine crumbs, cocoa and sugar in a bowl. Stir in butter. Press mixture onto bottom and up sides of a 9″ pie pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 min. Cool.

Chocolate Layer: Bring water to a boil in med mixing bowl. Remove from heat; immediately add chips, stirring until melted (return to very low heat, stirring constantly, if needed). Cool to room temperature. In large mixing bowl (which has been chilled, along with beaters), whip heavy cream with confectioners sugar until stiff; fold into the chocolate mixture. Spoon into crust; chill.

Peppermint Layer: Break candy canes into chunks; blend until finely crushed (resembles powder). Combine marshmallows and milk in saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat until marshmallows are melted.Cool to slightly warm. Prepare bowl as before, whip heavy cream until stiff; fold in crushed candy.Stir gently into marshmallow mixture; chill 10 min. Spoon onto chocolate layer; chill until set. Freeze, if desired. Top with Sweetened whipped cream. Garnish with Peppermint chips or coarsely crushed candy canes just before serving.
May be served chilled or frozen.