The Joys of Jell-O Recipe #71: Grasshopper Pie

Howdy Jigglers! No, it isn't what you think! I haven't lost my marbles and gone and put insects into Jell-O (yet, I suppose). No, the Grasshopper Pie is slightly more innocent than that, the "grasshopper" in the title referring to the cocktail of the same name, a minty, creamy tipple that my sister in law once referred to as "a boozy Shamrock Shake."

This recipe came to me courtesy of a randomly generated sequence of recipes that my husband and I picked out a few weeks ago. It then sent me on a safari through the local liquor stores to find creme de menthe, creme de cacao, and chocolate wafer cookies. I ended up going with Oreos, but I could swear Keebler used to make something akin to a chocolate animal cracker that I think would be perfect for this. (Check out my post regarding Crumb Crust for the crust recipe.)

As per usual I did not use storebought Jell-O but instead unflavored gelatin, as I really didn't think that lime would pair well with mint and chocolate. I also used whipped cream instead of Dream Whip because that stuff is gross. Other than that, I followed the main recipe as written. Since I used Oreos for the crust, though, I didn't think it needed any additional sugar, so I omitted that.

So to get started, I made the crust. I very loosely eyeballed the quantity of ground cookie crumbs to mix with the butter, and I think this was my first problem. I think I needed a little more crumb or a little less butter. My mixture basically covered the entire pie plate, though, and so I thought I was good, especially since previously I've struggled to get crumb crusts thin enough. But once I baked the crust, a lot of the crumb mixture sank down the sides of the dish, leaving some unsightly, craggy gaps. I just decided to press on, though.

 

My apparently inimitable inspiration.

While the crust cooled, I dissolved the gelatin in the water with some sugar, mixed in the cold liquids, and set that to chill. Meanwhile, I made the meringue and whipped cream, and then whipped most of the gelatin into that.

After the semi-cooled gelatin was mixed with the whipped cream and meringue, I knew that it wouldn't take long for it to start to set, and since I was really excited to try to get my Grasshopper Pie to look like the one pictured, I didn't wait long at all to check to see if it was ready. Sadly, though, it wasn't soon enough, because the whole kit and kaboodle had reached the "hard gloopy" stage where it was thick and starting to hold its own shape. At first I didn't realize what had happened and scooped it into the crust as written, but then I saw that it wouldn't settle down with a flat top. Honestly, if I were to make this pie again, I would probably pour the mix into the crust after seriously two or three minutes in the refrigerator after beating it all together. If the crust is adequately hardened by baking, it should withstand a slight liquidiness in the filling.

My poor timing didn't even end there, though. When the pie was ready to receive its marbled glaze of clear gelatin, I saw that the clear gelatin was too hardened to go on right, so I microwaved it for 10 seconds and poured it over top. I should have checked the temperature after heating but before pouring it on, as it had completely liquefied in that short span of time, so try as I might, I couldn't get it to marble with a spoon as I had hoped. All of that is just a roundabout way of saying: this is not a particularly pretty pie.

See? Not a beauty queen.

It looks like the creamy gelatin just separated from the clear gelatin as curds separate from whey, so you can't tell at all that that's intentional. I think the color turned out just fine, though. I was originally a little concerned that the creme de cacao would turn the creme de menthe color too brown, but it didn't do that at all, so no additional food coloring was needed.

To add insult to injury, my poor crust didn't really hold together as I'd have liked. I attribute this to having used Oreos. Next time I've got to find a better chocolate cookie to use. Maybe one of those crispy Tate's cookies? I considered getting some of those, but they all had chocolate chips in them. Thinking about it, though, if those started to melt in the oven, I bet they'd solidify and help the crust's structural integrity when they cooled. Hmm.

Anyway, we're here to find out how this monstrosity tastes! And...it tasted pretty good. The creme de menthe was so pungent smelling the whole time I was working on this that I had a headache and was fairly convinced that it would taste way too sweet and artificially flavored, but it really didn't end up tasting that way at all. It is very boozy, first of all, but mostly the effect is of a mint-chocolate chip ice cream but turned into a cream pie. The filling has the consistency of a rich creamy pudding, and the crust, for all its faults, tasted like an Oreo crumb crust should. All in all, I really liked this actually, which is good because I have roughly a liter of each of the liqueurs left over.

As indicated in the text of the recipe, I did have a lot of pie filling left over after filling the pie--enough for four servings. If you didn't want to mess about with a pie crust at all (and I don't blame you if that's the case), the way I dolled it up as pictured above also makes a perfectly decent dessert with a retro flair. If I were to do that again (and I might, for reasons that should be all too plain by now), the only thing I might do differently is mix in some mini chocolate chips at some point or sprinkle some over top. I've never seen chocolate incorporated into a Jell-O recipe before setting, though. Maybe it turns out gross. I have no idea. To be on the safe side maybe I'd stick to putting the chips in just before serving. If I were going to make the whole recipe in this configuration, I would also let the clear gelatin harden completely, flake it, and then mix that in to the creamy gelatin before letting it set completely. That would give it a little textural contrast.

Whether in a sherbet glass or in a crumb crust, the Grasshopper Pie takes a little effort and investment to make, and I certainly don't recommend it for the "busy homemaker," who will undoubtedly let some part of the gelatin set for far too long before proceeding to the next step, but it is a spectacle of a dessert, both in terms of looks and taste. I love mint. I love chocolate. What's not to like? Well, I wish I could get this dish without getting all the alcohol in there, but if life doesn't give you non-alcoholic creme liqueurs, play the cards you're dealt and make the Grasshopper Pie anyway! You only live once, you know?

So congrats to General Foods: you have made a Jell-O recipe so complex it might just require a lifetime of practice to perfect but yet tasty enough to warrant that practice.