Recipe #2: S'mores inspired pie

I came up with the idea for this recipe several months ago, and went so far as to purchase the marshmallows back in June, which of course means now they are sitting on my shelf taking up space. So today I used them! Or at least part of the bag. I may have to entertain myself several times over the next few months by putting the remainder in the microwave one by one.

So, here's the idea - I love s'mores, but I haven't been camping in years, and I don't believe you can get the same taste without toasted marshmallows. So using components from other recipes and my own imagination, I created a s'mores inspired pie. I hope you enjoy, and please feel free to mess around with the recipe - this is my first attempt at putting together my own baking concept (just let me know if you do, I'd love to hear additional ideas about this).

As usual, step-by-step pictures are below, and a shortened recipe is at the end.

Preheat oven to 350F. First step - if you don't have any graham cracker crumbs, make some. I go old-fashioned and use a rolling pin and a plastic bag (be sure to get out as much air as possible before sealing).

Start with this, and after some rolling and pounding...

you should get something like this!

Add in melted butter and sugar, mix until butter is evenly dispersed.

Action shot!

It will still be crumbly, but should appear damp from the butter.

 Set aside around 1/4 cup of the mixture. Press the remainder into a greased 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 8 minutes at 350F. Remove crust and turn oven down to 325F.

You can, of course, start with either a pre-made crust or graham cracker crumbs. I like making the crust fresh - and I use the arm workout of crushing the crackers as justification for eating more pie at the end.

While crust is in the oven (don't forget about it!), mix together melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk until well-mixed, then add cocoa and flour. Mix until smooth, pour into partially-baked crust. I used this recipe as my inspiration for the filling.

Butter, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and cocoa. How could it not taste good?

Almost there!

In the crust, before returning to the oven.

Place pie in oven for 20 minutes at 325F. Take out - center will be jiggly still.

This is after 30 minutes - as outlined above and in the actual recipe, I recommend reducing the initial baking time to 20 minutes. Unless you really, really don't want a gooey center.

 Top pie with marshmallows and remaining graham cracker crust, return to the oven for 10 minutes.

Add more marshmallows than this. Please. This is the voice of experience talking. If I had mini marshmallows, you wouldn't be able to see the surface of the chocolate underneath.

In the oven for (almost!) the last time.

 At this point, the marshmallows should be gooey. If you want them lightly browned and better toasted (I did), you can turn the oven up to broil and stick it back in for a SHORT period of time - I got browning within 2-3 minutes.

Done!

 Slice and enjoy. It will be crumbly and the marshmallows will be sticky, but trust me, it's worth it.

Sample slice!

Verdict: As I mentioned, I would change two things about the way I did it. I would add WAY more marshmallows (they shrink while baking, so add more than you think you will need to compensate), and I would also do the initial baking for 20 minutes, so that the pie is baked for a total of 30 minutes and the center is ultra-gooey - think half-baked brownies. However, if you are not a fan of gooey half-done brownies, you can increase the initial baking of the chocolate center to 30 minutes and then add the marshmallows for an additional 10 minutes at the end.

Recipe:

For crust: 

1 package graham crackers (about 1 2/3 cup crushed)

5 tablespoons melted butter

3 tablespoons sugar

For filling (inspired by this fudge pie):

1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix together graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar. Set aside around 1/4-1/3 cup. Use the remaining to press into a 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 7-9 minutes at 350 degrees, until the crust just starts to brown. Remove from oven and turn temperature down to 325. 

For filling: Beat eggs with butter and sugar. Add in vanilla, mix well. Add cocoa and flour, mix until smooth. Pour into crust and bake at 325 for 20 minutes. Remove pie from oven (top will be soft still) and add marshmallows on top, pressing lightly. Sprinkle the remainder of the graham cracker mixture over the top and return to oven for 8-10 minutes. If desired, turn oven to broil and return pie to oven for a final time - watch closely! Remove when marshmallows start to turn a light brown.