Impossible Hot Chocolate Pie

This hot chocolate pie with its smooth pudding filling is the perfect finish for your holiday meal. It’s your classic, everyone wants another slice type of pie. It is super easy to make even on a busy weeknight. Just one bite and you’ll be on cloud nine with this Impossible Hot Chocolate Pie. So good, they won’t believe you made it yourself. With only eight ingredients, it’s nearly impossible to mess up. Topped with a dollop of whipped cream it tastes just like a delicious cup of hot cocoa.

Pie Ingredients:

1 baked and cooled pie crust
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups whole milk
4 egg yolks
6 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (finely chopped)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
whipped cream for garnish

Homemade Whipped Cream Ingredients:
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pie Crust Directions:

You can make one of our easy homemade crusts or use a store-bought pie crust. Prepare crust as directed in recipe. Place in pie pan and crimp as desired. Chill the unbaked pie crust in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or freeze for at least 30 minutes before blind baking to prevent the sides from shrinking down.

To blind bake your crust: Preheat oven to 425°F. Once the oven is preheated, carefully line the pie crust dough with parchment paper and add some weight. You can purchase special pie weights or you can use dry beans or uncooked rice. Note, you will not be able to cook with them after you’ve used them for pre-baking your pie crust.

Put the pie crust on a cookie sheet and place in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges of the crust are starting to brown.

Remove the crust from the oven. Carefully remove the parchment and pie weights. To prevent the crust from puffing up, I use a fork to prick holes in it. Return the empty pie crust to the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the crust is browned and cooked through. Cool before filling.

TIP: For even more chocolate flavor you can also use an unbaked Oreo or Chocolate Graham Cracker pie crust. We recently made an awesome one for a caramel cheesecake with Chocolate Graham crackers.

Pie Filling Directions:

Start by finely chopping the chocolate and separating the four eggs, set aside.
Next, put the sugar, salt, and cornstarch into a saucepan. Stir together gently.
Then, pour the milk and add the yolks to the dry mixture. And, stir together.
Heat over medium heat, stirring gently but constantly with a wire whisk. At first, there will be a lot of bubbles but they will subside as the mixture starts to heat up and thicken.
Once the mixture starts to boil and thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon, remove the pan from the heat.
Immediately add chopped chocolate and vanilla. Stir until completely melted.
Add butter and stir until it melts.
Pour pie filling into prepared pie shell. Use a spatula to spread evenly.
Press plastic wrap onto the filling and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Make sure that the wrap is pressed against the surface of the chocolate to prevent a skin from forming.

TIPS:

Make sure to use quality chocolate that is between 50%-80% cocoa. Because the chocolate provides most of the flavor in this pie it’s important to use one that doesn’t taste waxy or overly sweet.

Do not use chocolate chips. Chocolate chips are made with stabilizers to prevent them from melting. Your pie may become lumpy instead of smooth.

For a smoother cut, dip your knife in hot water and then dry it off before cutting into the pie.

Homemade Whipped Cream Directions:

Prepare whipped just before serving by combining 3/4 cup heavy cream, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Mix on low speed and gradually increase speed to high. Beat until stiff peaks form.

Pipe or scoop whipped cream topping over pie and serve.

Hot Chocolate and Marshmallow Dessert

Since I used an 8″ (instead of a 9″) pie pan there was some filling that wouldn’t fit into the pie. So I made a mini hot chocolate and marshmallow dessert by mixing some miniature marshmallows into the leftover filling and spooning the mixture into the 4″ springform pan that came with my Instant Pot Accessory Set. I refrigerated it along with the pie and am loving this cute mini dessert for one. As you can see when I released the form the pie held its shape nicely.

I think next time I want a special dessert for hubby and myself, I’ll put a graham cracker crust into the bottom of a couple of these the springform pans and make this yummy treat for us.

Frozen Hot Chocolate! We’re Enjoying Our Favorite Tootsie Roll Hot Cocoas Cold For The Ultimate Hot Chocolate Experience

To help you cool off we’ve come up with two fun and delicious recipes. First, you can skip the frozen hot chocolate drinks at Starbucks, Dunkin, and Dairy Queen. We’ve blended chocolate and strawberry for a drink that will have all the goblins asking for more. And for the mint lovers, we’ve hidden little nuggets of minty goodness inside mint chocolate cocoa pops. So much minty goodness in one place! No tricks here, these treats are perfect any time.

Chilled Strawberry Hot Cocoa Drink

If you like chocolate-dipped strawberries, you’ll love this strawberry hot chocolate recipe!

Strawberry and chocolate have always been a great pair. While Tootsie Roll’s Strawberry Nougat Charleston Chew hot chocolate is perfect for a cold day, you can also serve it cold for a decadent treat on a hot summer day.

Ingredients:

1 Tootsie Roll Charleston Chew Strawberry Nougat Hot Cocoa Single Serve Pod
½ cup of Frozen Strawberries + a few extra
Whipped Topping
Charleston Mini Chews for Garnish

Directions:

For this refreshing drink, simply brew one Strawberry Charleston Chew Hot Cocoa Single Serve Cup on the smallest setting for each person. Let cool. Then, blend ½ cup frozen strawberries for each serving in a blender until smooth. Add prepared cocoa and blend just until mixed. Transfer into a glass, add the extra frozen strawberries, and top with whipped topping. Garnish as desired. I found a movie theater-sized box of the cutest Charleston Mini Chews candies at my local store to garnish ours with.

This fruity and chocolatey drink will have you wanting more so be sure to make extra. Don’t forget about Cupid. This recipe also makes a great sweet treat for Valentine’s Day that everyone will love!

We’ve had the pleasure of trying all three Charleston Chew flavors! Check out our review Which Charleston Chew Hot Cocoa Flavor Will Be Your Favorite? and see what we thought of them.

Frozen Mint Hot Chocolate Popsicles

If you like America’s favorite chocolate-covered creamy mint, you’ll love these minty hot cocoa pops!

Paired in these popsicles are two classic combinations, mint and chocolate. While Tootsie Roll’s Junior Mints Mint Hot Cocoa is a delightful treat on a cold day, you can also serve it cold for a luscious dark chocolate treat. Don’t be scared of all this chocolatey goodness. Cool off and enjoy these rich and creamy frozen hot chocolate popsicles today.

Ingredients:

4 Tootsie Roll Junior Mints Mint Hot Cocoa Single Serve Pods*
Junior Mints Candies

Directions:

For these refreshing popsicles, simply brew hot cocoa pods on the smallest setting. Let cool slightly. Drop a few Junior Mint Candies into each popsicle mold. Then, add prepared cocoa and insert sticks. Place in the freezer for 6-8 hours or until completely frozen. Unmold and enjoy the delightful flavors of smooth peppermint and indulgent dark chocolate.

*Depending on the number and size of your molds you may need more or less cocoa to fill them.

We’ve had the pleasure of trying this cocoa! Check out our review Junior Mints Mint Hot Cocoa: Smooth Peppermint & Indulgent Dark Chocolate and see what we thought of them.