FROM THE ARCHIVES: PRETTY NEARLY ALL THE ELF FOOD GROUPS:

Chocolate and Peeps Pie (NPR)

1 1/2 cups graham crackers, crushed

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 full packages of Peeps, 30 Peeps total (your choice of color), plus additional for garnish

1/3 cup hot milk

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/4 teaspoon brandy

2 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into small chunks and chilled in freezer (or two toffee bars chopped into bite-size pieces)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pulse graham crackers in a food processor until fine.

Mix butter, sugar and crushed graham crackers in a bowl. Press mixture evenly into the sides and bottom of a 9-inch pie plate.

Bake crust for 7 minutes until golden. Allow to cool to room temperature. (Crust can be made a day or two in advance and kept fresh in the refrigerator.)

Using a double boiler, stir in hot milk and Peeps until fully melted and uniform in color. Allow to cool to room temperature, 7-10 minutes. Do not allow mixture to stiffen.

Whip cream to stiff peaks using a hand blender or kitchen mixer. Add brandy during mixing.

Using large rubber spatula, fold whipped cream and chocolate pieces into the Peeps mixture. Make sure all of the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.

Pour into graham cracker pie shell and refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Garnish with green coconut (see below), whole Peeps and/or more chocolate pieces.

Green Coconut Topping

This recipe is adapted from the official Peeps Web site.

2 cups of shredded coconut

6-8 drops green food coloring

Toss coconut in a tightly sealed container with 2-3 drops of food coloring

Continue to add 2-3 more drops to achieve desired shade of green.

Spread colored coconut on a paper towel to dry.

Top pie with coconut.

(originally posted: 4/21/06)

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