Grandma Emma's Fudgy Chocolate Pie

My grandmother's chocolate cream pie was a staple of my childhood. Homemade custard filling with a dense texture. Very rich, not too sweet, and oh-so-satisfying. For convenience, I make this with a store-bought graham cracker crust and top with whipped cream, but she used to make hers with a prebaked pastry crust topped with meringue. Either way, it's delicious. Hope you enjoy!

• Preparation Time: 5 mins
• Cooking Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 25 mins
• Calories: 476 Calories

Ingredients

• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 ½ cups white sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 5 tablespoons cornstarch
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1 (10 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (such as Hershey's®)

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Cream sugar and yolks together in a large saucepan. Add milk, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt; whisk until no lumps remain. Add half-and-half and heat over medium heat, whisking constantly until filling is thickened, about 20 minutes.

Step 2

Turn off heat when filling starts to bubble; continue to stir for 1 minute. Remove thickened filling from the warm burner. Add butter and vanilla extract, stirring well until melted and well incorporated. Let filling sit to cool slightly, about 10 minutes.

Step 3

Stir filling well and pour into graham cracker crust, smoothing the top with a spatula. Chill, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 4 hours.