How to Make Grasshopper Pie (No Insects Involved)

It’s always more fun to DIY. Every week, we’ll spare you a trip to the grocery store and show you how to make small batches of great foods at home.

Today: Ignore its weird name — this retro ice cream pie from Lyndsay Sung at Coco Cake Land is chocolatey, minty, and beautiful enough to grace your holiday table. 

Grasshopper pie, whether purchased at Baskin Robbins as a birthday treat or plated at a restaurant, sliced fancy, and dolloped with fresh whipped cream, has a real 1980s vibe for me. Thirty years later, this ice cream cake — and its chocolate-mint flavor combination — still has a place in my heart: cool mint ice cream, chopped dark chocolate, a chocolate cookie crust, and a rich easy fudge topping. 

Despite the name, no bugs were harmed in the making of this pie! The whole pie is very easy, and if you bake the pie crust while the ice cream mixture is chilling, you can cut down on production time. Just don’t forget to chill the pie for 6 to 8 hours before slicing in, as you’ll want to give the ice cream and fudge topping enough time to properly set up. 

I served it with barely-sweetened fresh whipped cream and sprinkled it with chocolate shavings. If you really want to channel the 1980s, you can make chocolate “curls” instead.

Grasshopper Pie

Serves 12

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For the crust:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/4 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (I used Oreo’s)

For the peppermint chocolate ice cream:

1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
300 milliliters sweetened condensed milk
3 teaspoons pure peppermint extract
Pinch of sea salt
Green gel food coloring
1/2 cup good-quality dark chocolate, chopped into slivers or small pieces

For the fudge topping:

1/3 cup good-quality cocoa powder
2/3 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
Whipped cream and chocolate shavings, for serving

Start by making the cookie crust. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, then combine it with the cookie crumbs in a small bowl, mixing until it resembles wet sand. Press the mixture into a 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, being careful not to burn it. Let cookie crumb crust cool completely.

To make the ice cream, whisk together all of the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl,. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill it until cold but not frozen, about 30 minutes.

Pour the chilled mixture into the bowl of an ice cream machine and mix according to the manufacturer’s instructions. (I churned it for about 20 minutes.) Once the ice cream has churned, fold in the dark chocolate slivers.

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Immediately pour it into cooled cookie crumb crust and place in freezer to set for 1 hour.

While the ice cream layer is setting up, make the fudge topping: Combine the cocoa powder, granulated sugar, unsalted butter, and heavy cream in a medium saucepan over low heat, whisking to combine. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

After 1 hour is up, remove the ice cream pie from the freezer. Pour the cooled fudge sauce on top, using an offset spatula to spread to the edges. Freeze the pie for 1 hour, until fudge topping is set. Cover your pie with plastic wrap and chill for 6 to 8 hours before topping with whipped cream and chocolate shavings and serving.

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Photos by Lyndsay Sung