milk bar mondays – grasshopper pie

Well, hey there! Long time no… talk? see? read?

Yeah. I know. Totes on me.

Life has just been… life.

But I wanna tell y’all a secret.

Have you heard of CrossFit? Well, I dig it. It’s kind of my jam.

I have a pretty big competition coming up at the end of July. Also, it’s my first competition. Also, it’s being held in the Rose Bowl. Also. Also. Also… I’m really scurrrred.

And I’m super excited! It’s a team competition and I know we’re going to have an awesome time!

So, basically, I’ve been training overtime to prepare for this little shindig. Hence, my disappearance. I blame this on my less than stellar time management skills.

I also blame this on the fact that I am doing the Paleo Challenge to aid in my competition prep. I’m on Day 15 and it’s just as hard as it sounds. Especially the no sugar. And the no grains. Aaaand the no dairy too. Minus all that, I feel fantastic! Yay cavemen!

Sadly, Paleo has led me to not bake as much for I am not a strong willed person!

BUT DON’T WORRY! This isn’t forever. Geez!

If you’re curious to know what I’m eating, you can follow me on Instagram, or let me know if you’d like me to share some Paleo recipes! I’d love to mix it up for a couple months!

Just know that I’m still baking up treats for my coworkers and friends that are sane & eat a normal diet which allows dessert. Enter: the Grasshopper Pie, the latest from our Milk Bar Mondays group.

Minty, chocolatey, marshmallowy, brownie pie-y, goodness.

Believe it or not, I know this pie is fantastic. One- just look at the ingredients. Two- I stared creepily at friends while they ate it and their faces said it all. GLORIOUS.

Super gooey from the brownie pie filling & the marshmallows. Creamy & minty from the mint cheesecake filling. Crunchy graham crust. Melty chocolate chips & a cool mint glaze to top it all off.

This was such a winner! Everyone seriously loved it! Even with a few components to make, this came together surprisingly quick. I hiiiiighly recommend you make this! And then eat a slice for me!


Don’t forget to say hey to the rest of the Milk Bar Monday girls and check out their takes on the Grasshopper Pie!

Audra at The Baker Chick

Cassie at Bake Your Day

Erin at Big Fat Baker

Krissy at Krissy’s Creations

Follow the Milk Bar Monday ladies on Twitter! 

Grasshopper Pie
makes 1 10-inch pie

1 recipe Mint Cheesecake Filling (recipe follows)
1 recipe Brownie Pie (recipe follows)

20 g  (2 tablespoons) mini chocolate chips
25 g (1/2 cup) mini marshmallows

1 recipe Mint Glaze (recipe follows)

To assemble the pie:
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grab a sheet pan and put your pie tin of graham crust on it. Pour the mint cheesecake filling into the shell. Pour the brownie batter on top of it. Use the tip of a knife to swirl the batter and mint filling, teasing up streaks of the mint filling so they show through the brownie batter.

Sprinkle the mini chocolate chips into a small ring in the center of the pie, leaving the bulls eye center empty. Sprinkle the mini marshmallows into a ring around the ring of chocolate chips.

Bake the pie for 25 minutes. It should puff slightly on the edges but still be jiggly in the center. The mini chocolate chips will look as if they are beginning to melt, and the mini marshmallows should be evenly tanned. Leave the pie in the oven for an additional 3 to 4 minutes if this is not the case.

Cool the pie completely before finishing it. (You can speed up the cooling process by carefully transferring the pie to the fridge or freezer directly out of the oven if you’re in a hurry.

Now the pie needs to be Jackson-Pollocked with mint glaze. Make sure your glaze is still warm to the touch. Dunk the tines of a fork into the warm glaze, then dangle the fork about 1 inch above the bull’s eye center of the pie.

Transfer the pie to the fridge so the mint glaze firms up before serving – which will happen as soon as it’s cold, about 15 minutes. Wrapped in plastic, the pie will keep fresh in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.

Graham Crust
190 g (1 1/2 cups) graham cracker crumbs
20 g (1/4 cup) milk powder
25 g (2 tablespoons) sugar
3 g (3/4 teaspoon) kosher salt
55 g (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted, or as needed
55 g (1/4 cup) heavy cream

Toss the graham crumbs, milk powder, sugar, and salt with your hands in a medium bowl to evenly distribute your dry ingredients.

Whisk the butter and heavy cream together. Add to the dry ingredients and toss again to evenly distribute. The butter will act as a glue, adhering to the dry ingredients and turning the mixture into a bunch of small clusters. The mixture should hold its shape if squeezed tightly in the palm of your hand. If it is not moist enough to do so, melt an additional 14 to 25 g (1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons) butter and mix it in.

Eat immediately, or deploy as directed in a recipe. The crust is easiest to mold just after mixing. Stored in an airtight container, graham crust will keep fresh for 1 week at room temperature for 1 month in the fridge or freezer.

Mint Cheesecake Filling
60 g (2 ounces) white chocolate
20 g (2 tablespoons) grapeseed oil
75 g (2 1/2 ounces) cream cheese
20 g (2 tablespoons) powdered sugar
2 g (1/2 teaspoon) peppermint extract
1 g (1/4 teaspoon) kosher salt
2 drops green food coloring

Combine the white chocolate and oil in a microwave-safe dish and gently melt the mixture on low for 30 to 60 seconds. Use a heatproof spatula to stir the chocolate and oil together, working until the mixtures is glossy and smooth.

Combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and stir together on medium-low speed for 2 to 3 minutes to blend. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

On low speed, slowly stream in the white chocolate mixture. Mix for 1 to 2 minutes, until it is fully incorporated into the cream cheese. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the peppermint extract, salt, and food coloring and paddle the mixture for 1 to 2 minutes, or just until it is smooth and leprechaun green. (You may need to scrape the bowl down once mid-mixing.) No point in making ahead – you don’t have any use for it otherwise and it will make it trickier to swirl in later.

Brownie Pie
3/4 recipe (255 g, 1 1/2 cups) Graham Crust
125 g (4 1/2 ounces) 72% chocolate
85 g (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
2 eggs
150 g (3/4 cup) sugar
40 g (1/4 cup) flour
25 g (3 tablespoons) cocoa powder
2 g (1/2 teaspoon) kosher salt
110 g (1/2 cup) heavy cream

Dump 210 g (1 1/4 cups) graham crust into a 10-inch pie tin and set the remaining 45 g (1/4 cup) to the side. With your fingers and the palms of your hands, press the crust firmly into the pie tin, covering the bottom and sides of the pan completely. Wrapped in plastic, the crust can be refrigerated or frozen for up to 2 weeks.

Combine the chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl and gently melt them together on low for 30 to 50 seconds. Use a heatproof spatula to stir them together, working until the mixture is glossy and smooth.

Combine the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip together on high for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture is fluffy and pale yellow and has reached the ribbon state. (Detach your whisk, unk it into the whipped eggs, and wave it back and forth like a pendulum: the mixture should form a thickened, silky ribbon that falls and then disappears into the batter.) If the mixture does not form ribbons, continue whipping on high as needed.

Replace the whisk with the paddle attachment. Dump the chocolate mixture into the eggs and briefly mix together on low, then increase the speed to medium and paddle the mixture for 1 minute, or until it is brown and completely homogeneous. If there are any dark streaks of chocolate, paddle for a few seconds longer, or as needed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the flour, cocoa powder, and salt and paddle on low speed for 45 to 60 seconds. There should be no clumps of dry ingredients. If there are any lumps, mix for an additional 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Stream in the heavy cream on low speed, mixing for 30 to 45 seconds, just until the batter has loosened up a little and the white streaks of cream are fully mixed in. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Detach the paddle and remove the bowl from the mixer. Gently fold in the 45 g (1/4 cup) graham crust with a spatula. (These crumbs will add little bursts of flavor and texture into the pie filling.)

Mint Glaze
30 g (1 ounce) white chocolate
6 g (2 teaspoons) grapeseed oil
0.5 g (scant 1/8 teaspoon) peppermint extract
1 drop green food coloring

Combine the white chocolate and oil in a microwave-safe dish and melt the chocolate on low for 20 to 30 seconds. Use a heatproof spatula to stir the oil and chocolate together, working until the mixture is glossy and smooth.

Stir in the peppermint extract and food coloring.


Source: Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook

white chocolate cheesecake

Life-changing.

The words used to describe a cheesecake from my favorite restaurant in Athens, Georgia.

For those of you that don’t know, I am a proud alumna of the University of Georgia located in Athens.  I spent some of the best years of my life there.  Life made that much better because my sister, Jenny, soon followed me to UGA.  Jenny and I are two years apart and seriously the best of friends.  We’re those weird sisters that never fight and never get tired of each other.  I don’t know what I’d do without her!  (Love you, Jenny!)

On Jenny’s first birthday at UGA, I took her to Last Resort Grill for dinner.  Man, I love that place.  Their salmon & grits are amaaaazing!  Anyways, once it came time for dessert, we decided to order one thing to share.  We asked the waiter for a recommendation because we are an extremely indecisive duo.  He said, “Get the White Chocolate Cheesecake.  It’s life-changing.”  I have to admit, Jenny and I were a little skeptical of this bold statement, but we ordered it to find out.

One bite.  Life changed.  Dude totally knew what he was talking about.

Going to Last Resort for our birthdays became a tradition and we always got that dang cheesecake. 

Now, I’m here in LA and Jenny is out in Colorado, an officer in the Army.  Life has taken us in different directions but we’re still as close as ever and we still dream about Last Resort’s White Chocolate Cheesecake. 

Two weekends ago, I went to visit Jenny for a weekend.  Since it was a midpoint between our birthdays, we planned to recreate our beloved cheesecake to celebrate.  We had a great time in the kitchen & it was torture waiting for the cheesecake to chill & set.

Then came the moment of truth.  First bites.  Looks.  Smiles.  Even better than we remembered!

Please make this cheesecake and share it with your family & friends.  We all deserve a life-changing dessert every now and then.

White Chocolate Cheesecake

makes one 9-inch cheesecake

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Ingredients:
For the Chocolate Cookie Crust:
10 ounces chocolate cookie crumbs
1 stick unsalted butter, melted

For the Cheesecake:
3 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
5 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch salt
boiling water (for the water bath)

For the White Chocolate Ganache:
8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions:
For the Chocolate Cookie Crust:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine chocolate cookie crumbs and melted butter in a small bowl.  In a 9-inch springform pan, press cookie mixture into the bottom and up the sides about 1 1/2 inches.  Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack.

For the Cheesecake:
Reduce oven to 325 degrees F.  Place cooled pan on a couple large squares of aluminum foil.  Wrap foil up the sides of the pan to waterproof.

Place the chopped white chocolate into a heat safe bowl and set aside.  In a small sauce pan over medium heat, bring heavy cream to a simmer.  Pour hot cream over the white chocolate, making sure the chocolate is completely covered.  Let stand for one minute then gently stir the chocolate until completely melted.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes.  Mix in sugar and beat well, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.   Slowly add the white chocolate mixture.  Once combined, reduce mixer speed to low and add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Mix in vanilla and salt.  

Pour cheesecake batter into the prepared pan.

Set the cheesecake pan into a large roasting or baking pan and place it in the oven.  Pour the boiling water into the roasting pan, filling it about one inch high (be careful not to go over the aluminum foil).  Bake for one hour.  Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven for one more hour, until the center is just set (when you gently shake the pan, the center should be jiggly).  Remove cheesecake from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.  Chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight).  

For the White Chocolate Ganache:
Place the chopped white chocolate into a heat safe bowl and set aside.  In a small sauce pan over medium heat, bring heavy cream to a simmer.  Pour hot cream over the white chocolate, making sure the chocolate is completely covered.  Let stand for one minute then gently stir the chocolate until completely melted.  Let sit until it reaches desired consistency (it will thicken as it cools).

Pour over top of the chilled cheesecake.  Serve & enjoy!

*NOTES:
– I used about 10 Oreo 100-calorie packs for the crust.
– The chocolate cookie crumbs can be made with a food processor or by placing the cookies in a plastic bag and crushing with a rolling pin or other heavy object.
– To store, keep the cheesecake in the refrigerator.

Source: cheesecake slightly adapted from Not So Humble Pie, crust & ganache are my own