January 23, 2014 was National Pie Day. In honor of the day, I made a homemade chocolate pie for my husband – it’s his favorite.

I enjoyed a piece of the chocolate pie, too and it was delicious. I guess the cook isn’t suppose to say it was delicious, but it was!

As I made the pie crust, I referred to my 1970ish Betty Crocker cookbook because a dear family friend, Mary Eden of Euless, Texas, taught me this recipe was the very best pie pastry. And she was right! She was a very good cook and understood the details in creating foods that looked appetizing and tasted incredibly delicious. So this chocolate pie was created using the Betty Crocker pie pastry of 1 cup all purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/3 cup Crisco shortening plus about 1 tablespoon, and mixing this together with a pastry blender until the mixture looks like crumbled cornmeal. Then add 3-4 tablespoons of very cold water. Gently mix with a fork, fold the pastry onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to fit the pie plate. Since this crust is baked before filling, I use a fork to poke a few holes in the crust to prevent air bubbles. Bake for 8-10 minutes in a very hot 475 degree oven until golden brown. I love the smell of pie crust baking – reminds me of my friend Mary.

The pie filling is from my 1977 Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I’ve tried other chocolate recipes during our 35 years of marriage but this one is the creamiest, wonderful chocolate flavor and is always a winner with my husband. I use 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/3 cup of all purpose flour. I swirl this in a medium sauce pan. Then, add 2 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate (Baker’s), 2 cups of milk and cook on medium high heat until bubbly and thickened. Then, cook another 2 minutes. I gently pour about 1/2 cup of the hot chocolate mixture into 3 whisked egg yolks and whisk together. Next, pour the egg yolk mixture back into the chocolate mixture sauce pan and whisk as you pour to keep the eggs from scrambling. This step is tricky but continuous whisking is the secret to keeping the chocolate mixture smooth. Cook again on medium-high heat for 2 more minutes – whisk the entire 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add 1-2 teaspoons of real vanilla flavoring and 2 tablespoons of real unsalted butter. Pour the hot liquid into the cooled crust. I place a sheet of wax paper over the hot chocolate to prevent a hard skin from forming. Allow to cool and serve with real whipped cream with a little sugar whipped into the cream. Add chocolate chips and chocolate curls. Enjoy!