by Abby Tyler
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Gertrude & Maude’s Chocolate Refrigerator Pie
(Good for fattening up anybody.)
CRUST
• 1 1/2 cups finely crushed chocolate cookie crumbs
(Gertrude eats the centers out of the Oreos and uses the leftover tops and bottoms. )
(Maude, leave me out of these instructions. You know good and well the white centers of an Oreo are the best part, otherwise why would they make double stuff?)
(Fine, Gertrude. But you should mention that Golden Oreos work just as well, or you can crush a sleeve of graham crackers.)
(I will do no such thing. It’s chocolate Oreos or else it isn’t our pie!)
(Well, at least tell them how many Oreos it takes to make a crust.)
(How should I know? I eat too many of them to count. I use up two rows, but probably eat most of the second.)
* * *
• 6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
(You can use salted butter, but your crust will end up tasting as salty as Gertrude’s attitude. )
FILLING
• 1/4 cup hot water
* * *
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa
(Maude makes us buy the fancy Ghirardelli kind but any kind will do. Don’t be fancy like Maude.)
* * *
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
(We order Mexican vanilla but any extract will do. That’s Maude getting fancy again.)
* * *
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
(No, Gertrude, bittersweet, not semi-sweet.)
(No, Maude, it’s semi-sweet. I buy the ingredients. Bittersweet is like dark chocolate and the pie will be too tart.)
(All right, Gertrude, but don’t blame me when your teeth fall out.)
* * *
• 1 cup heavy cream
* * *
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
* * *
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie pan.
For the crust: Mix up the crumbs and melted butter, and press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Freeze the crust for 20 minutes, then bake for 8 minutes. It should be browned around the edges. Allow to cool. (Gertrude, remember that time you forgot to freeze it and it burnt to a crisp? Don’t bring that up now, Maude. But you tried serving it to Alfred Felmont, and you didn’t know it was burnt because it was already so dark brown, and he was all polite and ate the whole thing? He’s a gentleman, Maude. And then you ate it later and spit it out in the sink? That’s enough, Maude. These people are trying to make a pie.)
For the filling: Mix the hot water, cocoa, and vanilla in a small bowl and set aside.
Heat the chocolate in a saucepan on low heat. Stir until completely melted, and allow it to cool for five minutes.
Whip the cream, sugar, and salt with a mixer until it forms soft peaks.
Stir the cocoa mixture into the melted chocolate.
Whisk the chocolate mixture into the whipped cream until the color is uniform.
Spread the filling into the cooled crust.
Refrigerate the pie until the filling is firm. Don’t panic if it jiggles for a while. (Like Maude jiggles when she gets in a hurry. Now, Gertrude. Your arm wings flap like a bird when you’re excited. Oh, be quiet.)
Enjoy your pie and don’t miss more of Gertrude and Maude in the next Applebottom book: The Perfect Disaster !
About Abby Tyler
Abby Tyler loves puppy dogs, pie, and small towns (she grew up in one!) Her Applebottom books combine the sweet and wholesome style of romance she loves with the funny, sometimes a-little-too-truthful characters she remembers from growing up in a place where everyone knew everybody’s business.
Join her email or text list for a bonus epilogue for every book, a wedding scene narrated by Gertrude!
* * *
The Applebottom books include:
The Sweetest Match
The Perfect Disaster
The Irresistible Spark
The Unexpected Shelter
Mistletoe Summer
The Special Delivery
Belated Kiss
with many more planned!