Last winter, my mother-in-law sent me the Hershey's 1934 Cookbook that she had received as a gift from her stepmother. It was a re-issue from the 70's and while it may hold a special place as a bit of family nostalgia, it isn't much of a cookbook. I made both the pie and crust for this recipe from the book and while there isn't exactly anything wrong with it; there isn't anything that exceptional either. Perhaps if you'd never made a cake or cream pie before it would feel like an accomplishment to bake one of these recipes, but frankly I found them kind of stupid. When I bother to light the oven I want the results to be better than merely adequate.
I should have trusted my mother-in-law's notes she wrote in the book about which recipes were good and which were not worth it. Of course, she never made the pie or crust because she's (so she claims) unskilled with pastry. I don't know how a person can grow up in Harrisburg, PA and not be able to roll out a piecrust, particularly being such an otherwise talented cook. I guess we all have our weak areas-I can't broil a steak without ruining it. Anyway, next time I'll make the Creole Chocolate Cake because she gave it high marks.
I was not going to go out and buy a Special Dark chocolate bar to grate up and put in the crust. Even if I could find one around here, the chocolate no longer resembles the product it used to be (as in, it used to contain real chocolate) so I went ahead and grated up 1 ounce of bittersweet chocolate, which worked fine. If I made this crust again (which I doubt will happen) I'd substitute butter for the shortening. I also used my own homemade chocolate syrup in place of the Hershey's brand because I already had it made (I make a small batch at the beginning of each week for Danny to have in his milk). It's less sweet than the commercial syrup, and a bit thinner but it worked fine.
The recipe didn't offer much guidance about how long to cook the pie filling. Maybe in 1934 telling people to cook it until it is "thick" was universally understood. I cooked mine about three minutes after it came to a boil. I would say slightly thicker than pudding is what you're aiming for . I'd also use a good whisk for best results and keep the stuff moving constantly.
Other than that, I guess there isn't much to say beyond it is a chocolate/butterscotch pie in a chocolate crust. Not horrible, but I probably wouldn't make it again.
You Will Need:
For The Crust:
1/3 cup shortening
1 cup all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, grated
3-4 tablespoons water
Cut the shortening into the flour and salt. Mix in chocolate. Add water until dough comes together. Roll out and line a 9-inch pie plate. Prick crust bottom and bake in a preheated 450-degree f. oven for 12 minutes or until done. Cool completely before filling.
For The Pie:
¾ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
2-½ cups milk
6 tablespoons chocolate syrup
2 egg yolks, beaten
2 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon vanilla
In a saucepan, combine sugar, flour and salt. Stir in the milk, syrup and egg. Cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil Cook three to four minutes longer until thickened but not hard. Remove from heat. Beat in the butter and vanilla. Cool slightly. Pour into cooled crust. Cool at room temperature about twenty minutes, and then chill. Top with whipped cream.
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