This festive holiday pie features a delicious shortbread-like crust and two layers of fluffy, cheesecake-like filling, one layer with white chocolate and crushed peppermint candies and the other layer smooth chocolate.

Chocolate Peppermint Pie

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 teaspoon vinegar
5 to 6 tablespoons ice water

 

Chocolate Peppermint Pie:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup pasteurized egg product*
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 cup white chocolate chips, melted and cooled
1/2 cup (20) peppermint candies, crushed
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled

1. For Pie Crust: In a bowl, stir together flour, sugar and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut butter cubes into flour mixture until pieces are pea-size. Sprinkle vinegar over flour mixture, tossing with a fork. Sprinkle 5 to 6 tablespoons cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, over flour mixture, tossing with a fork each time until dough is moistened and crumbly. Gather dough into a ball, flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 400ºF (205ºC).
3. Roll dough into a 12-inch circle. Gently fold the crust into quarters, center over 9-inch pie plate and unfold. Ease the crust into the plate. Trim pastry, leaving a 1-inch overhang beyond plate edge. Fold crust edge under and crimp or flute the edge using a fork or your fingers.
4. Prick pastry with a fork. Line bottom and up sides of crust with foil and add dried beans or pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes, remove foil. Bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until crust is golden. Remove to a wire rack; cool completely.
5. For Filling: In a bowl, beat butter, cream cheese and sugar together.
6. Combine egg product and whipping cream, gradually add to butter mixture while beating, scraping bowl often. Beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reserve half of mixture in a small bowl. Add cooled white chocolate to remaining half of mixture; beat well. Stir in crushed candy. Spread in baked pie crust; chill 10 minutes.
7. Return reserved butter mixture to bowl, add cooled semi-sweet chocolate; beat well. Spread over white chocolate layer. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Makes 8 servings.

*Note: Pasteurized egg products are available in the supermarket (Egg Beaters® is the best known). The reason the recipe calls for this product is that the filling is not cooked, and there is a salmonella risk associated with eating raw eggs.

Recipe and photograph provided courtesy of Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Inc.