Creamy Cool Mint and Chocolate Grasshopper Pie - gluten free! Or not.

This pie is so lowbrow, and I mean that in the best way possible. It's not a pretentious pie. It doesn't have season tickets to the opera. It doesn't drive a Mercedes. It doesn't wear Prada. This is just a down home, Walmart shopping, Ford driving, baseball playing, summer pie. If we lived in "real America" instead of the liberal hippie commune we call California (oh, I love you, you liberal hippie commune!), I imagine we might eat pie like this every day.

And not that this pie would ever say so itself, seeing as it's so unpretentious, but it is also delicious. It's cool. It's creamy. It's got a refreshing mint flavor and a crisp chocolate crust. It's kind of amazing. Perfect for like, I don't know, a barbecue? A picnic? A beach party? Sunday dinner? A midnight snack? Any time you feel like a little kitschy? Any old excuse?







This weekend we had a coed baby shower barbecue at our house (and by the way, men should always be invited to baby showers. So! Much! Fun!). I made some cupcakes (not gluten-free), and I thought I would just pull this out of the freezer so I could enjoy some dessert too. Dude. This pie was practically inhaled it went so fast. And the cupcakes? I still have a million of them. And why shouldn't this cake be popular? It's practically no-bake, it's perfect on a hot summer day, it pairs well with barbecue, what's not to love?

Wait, I think it's talking to you. It say "make me already!" I think you better listen.










Creamy Cool Mint and Chocolate Grasshopper Pie - Gluten free! Or not.

Okay, okay, this pie has the great white Satan in it. You know what I'm talking about. Yep, that's right. This pie calls for cool whip. On most days, I tend to sit up on my high horse and talk about how horrible processed food is (because it is horrible, actually), but, well, not today. Life is short, it's ok to live it up with some cool whip every now and then. I'm not suggesting you make cool whip part of your daily bread, but there are some worse sins I can think of. And honestly, the cool whip is seriously yummy. It's summer! Let's enjoy it, shall we?

Also, let's talk about crusts. My crust is gluten free, and is made out of my gluten-free Girl Scout thin mint cookies. HOWEVER, any other gluten-free chocolate cookie will work, and if gluten is not an issue, Oreo's are just dandy. Whatever cookie you choose, you want it to be crisp, like a graham cracker, not soft and chewy.


For the crust
25 gluten-free Girl Scout thin mint cookies, undipped in chocolate, just the cookie (or other types of chocolate cookie).
1/2 cup butter (one stick), melted


For the pie filling
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
8 ounces cool whip, extra creamy, thawed
1 teaspoon peppermint flavoring
1/2 cup sugar
green food coloring




Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put 25 chocolate cookies in a food processor, and process until cookies are broken down into crumbs.




Add 1/2 a cup melted butter, and process until crumbs are moist and begin sticking together. Press into a pie plate, using the bottom of a measuring cup to press in firmly. Cook in preheated oven 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool (I stuck mine in the freezer to hasten the process. You want it to be cold before you put in the filling, or the filling may melt).




In a stand mixer, combine 8 ounces cream cheese...




... and 1/2 cup sugar. Whip on high until sugar is dissolved into cream cheese, and cream cheese is light and fluffy, 5-10 minutes.




Add 1 teaspoon peppermint extract. Mix to combine.




Add 8 ounces cool whip and mix until incorporated.




Add a few drops of food coloring (I used about 5 drops, but how green you want it is really a matter of preference). Mix thoroughly.




Filling with be firm but soft. Scrape filling into prepared crust, spreading evenly. Refridgerate at least 2 hours so it can firm up. Alternatively, pie can be frozen.




enjoy!