My Granny’s 5-Ingredient Party Pie Is My Favorite Retro Dessert

Every so often, I seek cooking or baking inspiration in my Granny’s recipe boxes. When my Granny Hurt died, I inherited three of them. The boxes not only contained the instructions for cherished family dishes, but they were also a diary of sorts, including my grandmother’s entertaining tips, her friends’ favorite cocktails, instructions for using the microwave, and even tips on how to think positively. 

If I’m feeling wistful, I thumb through her recipes and musings, but I also search through them for dining inspiration, especially for desserts. My 15-year-old son enjoys cooking, so he also likes looking through her recipe cards, and together, we recently discovered Granny’s Party Pie.

The title intrigued us—who wouldn’t want a party in a pie? But really, it was the simplicity of ingredients that had us sold. It had just five of them—chocolate, marshmallows, cream, milk, and a graham cracker crust—so it was an easy decision to try it out, because we already had all of the ingredients on hand. 

Granny’s recipe included milk chocolate with almonds, but we decided to substitute it with the plain milk chocolate already in our pantry, and it turned out just fine. In fact, the second time we made it, this time with the chocolate with almonds, we found that the nuts just sank to the bottom of the pie crust. It still tasted good, so you can choose to use either, but our preference was for the plain (sorry, Granny!). 

No matter which kind of chocolate you use, it’s a pretty decadent pie. Rich, thick, and chocolatey, this s’mores-inspired dessert is sure to make any gathering into a party.

Tips for Making Granny’s Party Pie

• Don’t skip the cooling time: One of the times we made this pie, we skipped cooling the melted chocolate mixture before combining it with the whipped cream. The pie turned out soupy and a bit flat, so it turns out Granny really does know best. If you follow the instructions, the filling will mound nicely in the pie shell.
• Make it ahead: I think this pie tastes even better the second day than the first, as the longer chilling time allows the flavors to meld, so consider making it ahead for your next party.
• Make a “party pie in a glass”: You may have a little bit of filling leftover after adding it to the pie crust, so I like to make a “party pie in a glass” or two: just transfer the extra filling to a serving glass and top it with crushed graham crackers for a single-serving treat.

Easy Tweaks

• Change up the chocolate: This recipe is very forgiving, so you can use whatever chocolate you like best. I loved it the most when I made it with dark chocolate, and my son wants to try it with white chocolate the next time we make it.
• Add vanilla: The only tweak we made to Granny’s recipe is that we added vanilla extract, which enhances the chocolate flavors. It’s optional, but I highly recommend it.
• Add a splash of alcohol: If I weren’t making this with my son, I might have also added a bit of rum or whiskey to the mix, which both taste great with chocolate.

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