Heavenly Chocolate Pie

For Tommy's birthday last October, he wanted fried chicken with gravy, mashed potatoes, peas and chocolate pie for dessert. So being the wonderfully sweet wife that I am, I made all of that for him after teaching school all day. I know, he's very lucky! Actually, I'm the lucky one, with all of the cooking I do - he cleans the kitchen. Well, I didn't make him clean on his birthday, but he does every other day just about.

This is the chocolate pie I made. It is really fast, easy and so very delicious. I have made it several times and each time we eat it so quickly after I make it that it doesn't really have time to set. But if you have it the next day, the pudding part is set from being in the refrigerator. The thing I haven't figured out or fixed is the sweating meringue. I have read that the meringue will "sweat" if there is humidity or moisture in the air. I'm not sure how to keep that from happening. One other thing I have read about is that if you put the meringue on the pie filling as soon as the filling is done, then the heat will help bake the meringue from the underside as well. I have not yet tried that, but next time I will.

Heavenly Chocolate Pie
1 9 inch baked pastry shell (I have made homemade but I like to use the Pillsbury pie crusts in the red box. They are easy to use and delicious every time.)

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
6 tbl unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups milk
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1/2 cup butter
2 tsp vanilla

Meringue Topping
4 egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
6 tbl sugar

In a saucepan, combine sugar, flour, cocoa powder, salt and milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils. (I like to stir with a whisk to keep the lumps out.) Pour some of this mixture in with the egg yolks and stir, then pour the egg mixture into the remaining chocolate mixture and continue cooking until mixture boils, then cook for one minute more. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Cool for 10 minutes, pour into the pie shell.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile to prepare meringue topping: In a small mixer bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Gradually add sugar and beat until stff peaks form. Spread this on warm pie filling, carefully sealing to the edges of the crust.

Bake for 5-10 minutes watching carefully, until the meringue is lightly browned. Cool to room temperature; chill for several hours before serving.

Rating:
Even when it's runny, my family still gives this 5 stars! *****