Mint Chocolate Cream Pie! Like instant chocolate pudding in pie form, but way better. A hint of peppermint makes this dessert festive.

Photography Credit: Cindy Rahe

Ever since I can remember, chocolate cream pie has almost always been a part of my family’s holiday dessert spread. It was one of my grandpa’s favorites and my brother always requests it.

My grandma was the pie-maker in our family and her classic chocolate cream pie made with homemade pudding was the inspiration for this minty version.

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This filling for this pie has a pudding-like texture–not too dissimilar from instant chocolate pudding, but slightly more dense and silky. Eating this pie hits all the nostalgia buttons for me but with a boost of deep chocolate flavor and refreshing hit of peppermint.

I switched out my grandma’s pastry crust for a chocolate cookie crust. It’s made the same way you’d make a graham crust but with chocolate wafers instead.

My filling also has a slighter darker, richer chocolate flavor than my grandma’s version because I use high-quality Valrhona cocoa and add a little more than she did. I’ve also added just a little bit of peppermint for a festive holiday twist.

I like to serve this pie piled high with whipped cream and crowned with a shower of chopped peppermint bark.