Dirt Pie - Week #21

The "dirt" pie was pretty simple, but significant -- at least in the annals of this blog -- nonetheless.  This was the first pie that was not based on a recipe that I found somewhere, or some amalgamation of several recipes.  Instead, it was/is a Simple Simon original.  I will attempt to put a recipe of sorts at the bottom of this post.  If it doesn't turn out for you, you can assume one of several possibilities is true:

1. It's all a lie, and that isn't really the recipe
   
2. It's not technically a lie, but I've forgotten how I made it
   
3. It wasn't that good in the first place
   
4. You really can't bake
   

Just as a hint, it aint the last one.  This was actually pretty easy.  It had better be.  My skills have improved significantly over the past 20+ weeks, but it is still a crap-shoot every week.  More importantly, making up the recipe introduces a whole new treasure chest of ways for me to screw up.  Here's to me trying some more real soon!

I actually was pretty happy with how this pie turned out to look.  There's only so much elegance and refinement one can perceive when looking at a pie with a couple of discolored gummy worms on it, but nonetheless.

As far as taste, I think it is firmly in the middle of the pack.  The work crowd seemed to like it (even the always difficult -- in every conceivable way -- J.S., the requestor).  My co-baker on this one, my daughter, was at least a little bit upset that this one disappeared from the refrigerator after only getting one piece.  I am taking that as a good sign on the homefront.  All-in-all, I am going to call it a success.  Heaven knows I have plenty of marks in the opposite column.

The required pictures:

The crust was made from multiple materials to try to make it look like sand.  I was really happy with the visual outcome, but the corners ended up really thick, dense, and borderline impenetrable with your average fork.  I claim the look was more important anyway.

A combination of chocolate cream cookies and vanilla wafers crushed over the top.  Whipped cream in the middle

A slice.  The worms really give it the fine-dining look I was hoping for.

A recipe of sorts:

Crust

Ingredients

1/2 cup finely crushed graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup finely crushed vanilla wafer crumbs

1/2 cup finely crushed chocolate wafer crumbs

1/3 cup white sugar

6 tablespoons butter, melted

Preparation

1. Mix the cookie crumbs thoroughly with the sugar
   
2. Add the melted butter, mixing completely
   
3. Smash the crap out of the resulting mixture into a 9" pie plate -- I actually added a little extra of everything and used a deep dish plate.
   
4. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Filling

Ingredients

2 cups milk (divided into 1 1/2 cup and 1/2 cup)

1/3 cup flour

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

2 tbsp butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup heavy whipping cream

6 chocolate cream cookies

6 vanilla wafers

1/4 cup roughly chopped pecans

Preparation

1. Crush the cookies and vanilla wafers into a coarse blend
   
2. Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, eggs and 1/2 cup milk in a medium bowl
   
3. Bring 1 1/2 cups milk to a boil in a medium saucepan
   
4. Stir in the chocolate chips, stirring until smooth completely melted
   
5. Slowly add the flour mixture to the boiling milk, stirring continuously until the mixture boils and thickens noticeably
   
6. Add the butter and vanilla, stirring until completely incorporated
   

Assembly

1. Spread the pecans and some additional chocolate ships (if desired) over the bottom of the cooled crust.
   
2. Spread just enough of the pudding-like mixture prepared above into the crust to cover the nuts
   
3. Press a piece of plastic wrap onto the pudding mixture and allow to cool completely
   
4. Once the pudding is cooled, whip the cup of whipping cream into whipped cream
   
5. Gently fold the whipped cream and pudding mixture together
   
6. Spread 1/2 of that mixture into the crust
   
7. Sprinkle some of the coarse cookie crumb mixture over that
   
8. Repeat
   

I am pretty sure that is it.  If not, please be assured it is not malicious intent, but old age that caused any discrepancies.  Also, since I am not really much of an original, parts of this filling recipe are certainly begged, borrowed and stolen, but it is more of a composite than anything.  I can not really point to a source or two.