I had to miss my beloved Scottish Festival last weekend, but that didn’t mean that the weekend was any less eventful. Our oldest had his first soccer game. He’s still young enough that they aren’t supposed to keep score, but he whispered in my ear that his team won 4-3. He was ecstatic that his coach picked him to do a corner kick because, “That’s what David Beckham always does.” After the game we had to get ready for the Hungarian Scout opener which is a beach day meet and greet with the local Hungarian scouts and their families. Sunday morning we woke up bright and early to hit the monthly Rose Bowl flea market. It was the first time we took the boys along and it was really not the best idea. While they enjoyed looking at all of the goodies (and made off with some almost vintage 90s era GI Joe and Star Wars toys… new in their boxes) it was way too hot for children… really, for anyone… so we took off and were home long before lunch time (oh well, there’s always next month). Of course, most of the rest of the day was spent watching football, but since I only really care about the Broncos games, I had a lot of extra time on my hands and you know what that means… baking!

I was going to make the amazing brownies that I posted a while back, but I only had two eggs and the recipe calls for five so strike that idea. I didn’t feel like going to the store but I had mentioned brownies and David already had his heart set on something rich and chocolatey. I had pinned a recipe for Chocolate pie on Pinterest but I wasn’t super confident about the recipe so I did a Google search for chocolate pie and the one that caught my eye was a recipe for “Minny’s Chocolate Pie” (like from the movie, The Help). I love The Help and Minny’s Chocolate Pie sort of steals the show. The recipe called for a store bought pie crust but that wasn’t going to happen; number one, I DO NOT use store bought pie crusts, period (hello trans fats!); and number two, I was already too lazy to go to the store to buy eggs, so why on Earth would I drive to the store to buy something that I am completely against using in the first place? I could have made my go-to pâte brisée recipe, but that would have required an hour of refrigeration and I was really not in the mood to wait (or roll anything out for that matter…did I mention that I was feeling lazy?). I once again turned to Google in search of an easy, quick pie crust recipe and found one that didn’t require refrigeration or a rolling pin. To be honest, it sounded a little too good to be true, but I thought, what the hay! Some of the reviews said that the recipe was a bit too salty and more suited for something like a quiche, but I gave it a go because, in my book, salted chocolate is always a good thing.

Everything went together way too easily so I was sure that it would end in disaster. I’m not going to lie, the pie isn’t very pretty. My littlest asked if it was “pooey pie” which made David and I laugh hysterically (if you’ve seen The Help, you know why). I called it ugly; David said it was “rustic.” I like his way of thinking, so we’ll go with that. It is a rustic, chocolate pie and it gets a whole lot prettier if you top it with whipped cream, but would it pass the taste test? We waited until the pie was adequately chilled before cutting into it and I watched tentatively as David dug in. When his eyes closed with delight, I knew we had a winner. The crust is flakey and the filling is as smooth as silk. It is a total winner and perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Minny’s Famous Chocolate Pie

(Minus the “Secret” Ingredient)

Adapted from Food & Wine and All Recipes

Quick Pie Shell

Ingredients:

•  1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
•  1 teaspoon salt
•  ½ cup canola oil
•  2 Tablespoons milk (I used skim because that’s all I had)

Chocolate Pie Filling

Ingredients:

•  1 ½ cups granulated sugar
•  2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
•  2 large eggs, slightly beaten
• ¾ cup evaporated milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a pie plate, using a fork, mix the 1 ½ cups flour, 2 teaspoons sugar and 1 teaspoon salt.
3. Add the ½ cup canola oil and 2 Tablespoons milk and mix until just combined.
4. Using your fingers, press the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of the pie plate.
5. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.
6. While the pie shell is baking, in a medium bowl, whisk all of the filling ingredients together until smooth.
7. When the pie shell is finished baking, pour the filling into the hot shell and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
8. Bake pie for 45 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
9. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
10. Once pie has cooled, you can either serve with whipped cream or chill for a couple of hours (I like it chilled) and then serve it with whipped cream.