Straight To Emily and Grandmother's Chocolate Pie Recipe

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Elizabeth, my mother-in-law, made no secret of the fact that she despised cooking. Yet in spite of this statement, she cooked mouth-watering stews, gooey macaroni and cheese, tasty green beans, and moist beef roasts. For someone who hated to cook she did a lot of cooking, especially when it involved someone’s birthday, and it always tasted delicious.

The fact that Elizabeth fussed about cooking made her faithful serving of hearty food and wacky experiments more meaningful, heartfelt, and welcome. But nothing surprised us more than the day she and our daughter, Emily, invented their own pie recipe.

Upon returning from a convention in Kentucky, my husband and I brought back a famous Derby pie, but Elizabeth was not one to be outdone. After tasting our gift, she said, "I believe I can make that, and it won't cost near as much as what you paid for it!"

And so she set out to make her own, less costly version of the Derby pie. With the help of our ten-year old daughter, Emily, Elizabeth concocted her own recipe. Once they perfected their recipe, they treated us to a chocolate, nutty confection complete with whipped cream...known simply as Emily and Grandmother’s Pie. And it was delicious. In fact, it was so addictive I feared it would wreck my new healthier eating habits!

Over time the recipe faded away as Elizabeth’s health deteriorated. Then a year after she passed away, my daughter (now in high school) and I came across her recipes. At the top of one card, Elizabeth's squiggly but legible writing, read Emily and Grandmother's Pie.

What a sweet, special memento!

"I remember when Grandmother made up this recipe. We had so much fun in the kitchen doing things like that together. I'm going to make our pie sometime," exclaimed Emily.

"Why not make it for Thanksgiving?" I suggested, knowing the holiday approached us.

The pie became our new holiday tradition. And as we heartily ate our pie, we couldn’t help but remember spirited little Elizabeth.

Emily and Grandmother's Chocolate Pie Recipe:

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt (can omit)

1/4 cup melted butter or margarine

1 cup dark corn syrup

1 cup broken or chopped walnuts

1 6-ounce bag mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

9-inch unbaked piecrust