Almost No Bake Peppermint Cream Pie
What I most look forward to, during the Christmas Holidays, is peppermint. Peppermint and Chocolate are a perfect pairing, and this pie has both of those components. The pie crust is made with chocolate wafers. The filling is "no bake" with whipping cream, gelatin, and plenty of peppermint extract and bits of peppermint candy. After a heavy Christmas dinner, this dessert was light and had just the right amount of sweet. It makes a very pretty presentation, too.
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 9-oz package chocolate wafer cookies
- 1/8 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup butter melted
For the filling:
- 1 envelope plain gelatin
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream divided
- 1 cup crushed soft peppermint candy* plus extra for garnish
Garnish:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or peppermint extract
- Crushed peppermint
Instructions
- Crush the peppermint
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
For the crust:
- Add the chocolate cookies and granulated sugar to a food processor and pulse until crushed to a fine crumb.
- Add the melted butter and pulse until mixed.
- Spray a 9-inch pie plate with Pam.
- Gently press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. Bake for 7-8 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.
For the filling:
- In a small bowl sprinkle gelatin over the cold water and set aside to soften.
- Measure 1/2 cup whipping cream in a small saucepan.
- Add 1 heaping cup of the crushed peppermint candy. Cook over low heat until all the candy is melted.
- Remove from the heat and add the softened gelatin and peppermint extract. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Don’t allow the mixture to cool too long and become set.
- Beat 1 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold the peppermint mixture into the whipped cream until almost blended.
- Spread the filling into the pie crust and refrigerate until set – about 2 hours.
- Garnish with additional sweetened whipped cream and crushed peppermints as desired*. The extra crushed peppermint adds a good sweet crunch to this pie without making it overly sweet.
Notes
You can use Red Bird Brand the original soft peppermint or Bob’s peppermints are a popular choice
*You might want to garnish with peppermint right before serving, as my peppermints melted a bit while chilling in the refrigerator. Not a deal breaker, but I will remember this next time.