Fluffy Sticky Marshmallow Pie!

I have a love/hate relationship with marshmallows.  While I adore marshmallow cream, Rice Krispie treats, and a good S'More, I can't just sit down and eat a marshmallow out of the bag.  Maybe it's the cornstarch they use to keep them all from sticking together, but my mouth just doesn't like them "naked" like that, so I've never put any thought into marshmallow dishes until recently.  My friend Cindy actually prefers naked marshmallows to almost any other treat!  So, when she successfully defended her dissertation recently and became "Dr. Cindy," I knew I'd have to jump into the kitchen with a bag (or two) of 'mallows in hand, to help her celebrate.

You will need:

• A store bought graham cracker crust, or:
• 10 Graham Crackers
• 1/2 C. Shredded Coconut (lightly toasted) for sweetness (it's better than sugar)
• 6 Tbsp Melted Butter
• 1/2lb Large Marshmallows (That's 34 of them, by my scale)
• 1/2 Cup Whole Milk
• 1Tbsp Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1 1/2 Cups Whipping Cream
• 1 oz. High Quality Dark Chocolate
• Another 1 Cup Whipping Cream + 1/4 Cup sugar
• Handful or two of mini-marshmallows

Optional "features:"

• Colored mini-marshmallows
• Rainbow Sprinkles
• Mini chocolate chips
• Toffee chips 
• Oreo cookies instead of Graham Crackers

I'm more of a "Cast Iron and Meat" guy than I am a baker, so I generally use a store-bought pie crust whenever and wherever possible, however, I believe a homemade graham cracker crust is far superior to store bought crusts so... it's worth the effort to make your own.  Suck it up and get to it! 

Spread the coconut out in a non-stick pan and bring the heat up to medium.  Watch it carefully, and stir/toss it around the pan until the little coconut nibs start to turn a light brown.  Take them out of the heat immediately to cool.  Meanwhile, crush 10 whole graham crackers in a food processor (or put them in a stout plastic zip-top bag and have your kids crush them by hand; Kids have much more destructive power than a food processor).  Add the melted butter and your coconut to the cracker crumbs, in a bowl, and mix them together.  Spread it out in a pie pan and press it evenly around the bottom and sides.   Bake it for 10 minutes at 375, and set aside.

For the pie filling, put the whole milk, and the Eagle Brand SCM in a 4qt non-stick sauce pan and add the large marshmallows.  Stir continuously over Medium-high heat until it's all melted together.  Turn it out of the pan and into a bowl and set it aside to cool to room temperature (at least 30 minutes).

Fully Fluffed

Now, pour 1 and 1/2C of whipping cream into a bowl and beat the crap out of it with your stand mixer (or electric beaters).  Do NOT add any sugar or vanilla, this is not "Whipped cream" we're making, it's a base to fold the mallow-batter into!   Beat the cream into stiff peaks, being careful not to beat the cream until it turns into butter.  When you have good stiff peaks, gently fold the cream into the cooled mallow mixture.  Use a big spatula and carefully fold it together.  Don't beat it or stir too vigorously or you'll take the bubbles out and your pie won't be as "Fully Fluffed!"  Think light and airy thoughts while you fold, and don't allow your "inner mixer" to take over and start stirring!  The fluffier the better.

Once the two mixtures have been folded together, shred your 1oz of chocolate into fine shavings and gently mix it into the marshmallow cream.  Pour the mix into your pie shell!

Finally, pour your last 1c of whipping cream and sugar together into your mixing bowl and whip up a traditional batch of whipped cream.  Spread this whipped cream over the top of your pie, like frosting.  Let some peaks pop up here and there for appearances.  Finally, sprinkle the mini-marshmallows over the top of the pie, as abundantly or as sparsely as you feel is necessary.  Place the finished pie in the refrigerator for a minimum of 3 hours to set.  You can leave it in your chill-box overnight if you like, with no loss of quality.  Embellish this pie with rainbow colored sprinkles if you like (I couldn't bring myself to look for sprinkles... having lost enough testosterone already, making this silly pie, I couldn't spare anymore to unicorns, sprinkles, or colored marshmallows), or with chocolate chips or anything you might like with marshmallows. 

It's not as sticky as you might think, and it's not too sweet, either.  It goes very well with a good Champagne, according to Dr. Cindy...