Elizabeth’s Pudding-Filled Chocolate Chocolate Chip Meringue Pie and Drops

I am taking credit for the creation of this new concoction, although it is based on a combination of recipes found in The All New Joy of Cooking. This is what we did while waiting for Tropical Storm Hanna to blow over our house.

Start with the recipe for Meringue I, which is based on granulated sugar. Beat 4-5 large egg whites, enough to make ½ cup; 1 teaspoon vanilla; and ½ teaspoon cream of tartar. Gradually add 1 cup of superfine sugar (I used regular granulated sugar). Beat until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. (Because I failed to wait until my eggs had achieved room temperature, mine never did form proper peaks.) Optional: add 3 tablespoons of Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa during the last step to make it chocolate.

This is what the pre-cooked chocolate meringue looks like without the proper peaks:

To make the meringue pie shell, butter a pie form and spread the meringue into the form with the back of a spoon. Optional: sprinkle with chocolate chips before baking. Use a spoon to drop the remains onto wax or parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

This is what the pre-cooked crust looks like:

Bake in a preheated oven at 225 degrees F for 1 ½ to 2 hours. To test, take one of the small drops out of the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. The middle should be crisp. Leave in turned-off oven to cool and serve immediately if possible.

This is what the pre-filled baked crust looks like. The middle will become crispy as it cools:

In the meantime, prepare the Vanilla Pudding filling. You could use a mix, of course, but this recipe is so simple and the ingredients readily available; you are certainly to find the results superior to any mix you have every made. In a heavy saucepan, mix ½ cup sugar, 2 1/2 tbsp. corn starch,and 1/8 tsp. salt. Gradually stir in 1/3 cup whole milk or half-and-half until you have a runny paste. Whisk in 1 2/3 cup whole milk or half-and-half. Heat over medium heat, stirring until mixture thickens. Reduce heat to low; stirring briskly, bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in 2 tsp. vanilla. Pour the pudding into a container, pressing plastic wrap onto the surface to prevent film from developing. Cool in refrigerator for about 2 hours.

The cooling of the crust and the pudding should coincide. Once the pie crust has cooled, fill it with the pudding. If you like, top it with chocolate chips. Serve immediately. The house will smell so heavenly you are bound to have plenty of customers lined up by this time.

This is the baked and filled pie ready to serve:

Drops can be stored in an airtight container. Pudding-filled pie must be refrigerated and will become soft overnight, but it still tastes good.

These are the baked drops ready to serve:

All pictures and recipe medley owned by Elizabeth K. Miller.