Grasshopper Pie

Recently we spent an afternoon together with my daughter and a few of her friends and somehow grasshopper pie came up which brought back memories for me of my mom making it for dinner parties and me admiring the beautiful dutch-looking white creme de menthe bottle with a blue wind mill on it.

My daughter does not have a big sweet tooth, so it's tough to find birthday desserts for her. I thought this year it might be fun to go retro and try a grasshopper pie to celebrate her birthday...everyone enjoyed the pie but loved the crust the best. I excluded the creme de menthe and creme de cacao in my recipe since kids were eating it.

Next time I think we'll try Key Lime Pie- it's definitely fun to try alternatives to chocolate cake on a birthday!

Grasshopper Pie

Adapted from Nigella Lawson

Crust:

28 oreo cookies

3 tablespoons softened butter

Filling:

3 cups mini marshmallows

1 cup whole milk

few drops green food coloring

3/4 teaspoon mint extract

1  1/2 cups heavy cream

Process cookies in food processor until they form a crumb mixture. Add butter and process until the mixture starts to clump together. Press into 9 inch glass pie pan, smoothing the mixture out on the bottom and sides of the dish with the back of a spoon. Refrigerate until chilled.

Put marshmallows and milk in saucepan and cook over low heat. Once the milk starts to foam (don't let it boil), take off the heat and keep stirring until the marshmallows blend into the milk to make a smooth mixture. Let cool and add mint extract.

In medium bowl, whisk the cream (I did it by hand and it didn't take that long) until it starts to hold soft peaks. Add the cooled marshmallow mixture. Whisk in a few drops of food coloring.

Spread filling into cookie crust and smooth on top. Place pie in refrigerator to chill overnight, or at least 4 hours to firm.  Crush a bit of oreo cookie on top or some shavings of chocolate. Enjoy!