SOUTHERN CHOCOLATE PIE

 

I have had this recipe for at least forty years. I didn't write a date on the recipe card as I commonly did back then so I don't know if I ever actually made it or not. I sorta made up for that though as I made it twice this weekend.

Our neighbors in the last few years have been very generous in taking care of us which we really appreciate. We have a snow blower that our son Patrick gave us maybe ten years ago but Wayne hasn't used it but a couple of times if that many. We don't need to since neighbors will be out there clearing our driveway and sidewalk for us. Did I mention we have the longest driveway on our street because it goes the length of the house and back around the back to get into our garage. We call the area behind our house the parking lot because if you tried you could probably park six cars back there. We pay a teen in the neighborhood to mow our yard but I'm sure if we didn't one of our neighbors would mow at least the front yard. They are just really awesome neighbors.

They will never take money so I bake for them. Peter on our left loves chocolate so I thought I would bake him a chocolate pie. His favorite is French Silk but I hesitate making one of those. I recently ran across this recipe for Southern Chocolate Pie when I was looking for something else with my recipe cards. I checked to make sure they liked coconut first since I know some people just don't like the texture of coconut.

I had bought some "deep dish" frozen pie crusts recently and since the recipe indicated you needed a pie shell with a high rim, I thought they would be perfect. (There were two in the package so I planned to make their pie first on Saturday and then make one for us on Sunday afternoon.) My plans changed though after I got started because the "deep dish" pie crust I bought turned out to be not deep enough and the foil pan was too flimsy. Trying to lift the pie crust after I had poured the mixture into it onto the cookie sheet, I first spilled some of the mixture over one side. After I got it settled on the sheet, I ended up removing at least half a cup of the mixture because I knew I didn't have enough room to add the coconut and pecans and I felt like it would bake over the side. To make matters worse when I was trying to place everything in the oven, I didn't hold the cookie sheet level and more of the filling ran over the other side. 

We ended up keeping that one for us and I tried again on Sunday but instead of using the not-so-deep Deep Dish pie crust, I used a pie plate I have that is deep dish. I also used a rolled up pie crust you can purchase. The only thing with using them in a deep dish pan, the circle isn't big enough to make an edge around the pie. That actually was fine with me because the edge always breaks away with me when I go to serve a pie.

The end result for Sunday's attempt was perfect and so pretty. I let the pie cool for one hour and then we took it over to them before it got dark. I told them the good news was the pie looked so pretty and the bad news was they would have to wait until Monday to eat it because it still needed 3 hours to cool before cutting. That didn't go over very well with them, but fortunately Colti was making some brownies because they were craving something sweet so I told them they could enjoy the brownies and save the pie until tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Wayne and I have been enjoying the first pie I made on Saturday. Colti said someday she would learn to make a pie. I told her this one was a super easy one to start out on as it goes together so easily. I hope you will give it a try. Trust me! You won't be sorry. The first picture is of the second pie, but the pictures with the recipe are from Saturday's attempt.

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SOUTHERN CHOCOLATE PIE

1       pkg. (4 oz) German's Sweet Chocolate Bar

1/4    cup butter

1       can (12 oz) evaporated milk

1       cup sugar

3       eggs

1       teaspoon vanilla

1       unbaked 9 - inch deep dish pie shell with high rim

1-1/3 cups angel flake coconut

1/2     cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare pie crust, if necessary. Set aside. (I placed my pie crust on a large cookie sheet. This is especially necessary if you are using a premade crust in just a foil pan.)

Stir the chocolate bar and butter over low heat until melted and smooth.

Remove from heat.

Add the sugar and evaporated milk and stir until blended.

(Might need to use a whisk.)

Beat eggs and vanilla in another small bowl and

then add to chocolate mixture.

Stir or whisk until well blended.

Pour into pie crust. (You can see in this picture how high it was in the crust. This is before I removed a half cup of the filling.)

Here is a picture of the second attempt using my deep dish pie plate.

Sprinkle the coconut evenly over the top and

then sprinkle the chopped pecans.

Carefully place in the oven and bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until the top is puffed evenly. (Filling will set while cooling.) (The filling did not run over the sides as it baked, but I did feel better baking it on a cookie sheet.)

Cool for at least 4 hours. Store in the refrigerator.