We had a houseful. Twenty little ones, eight big ones, fireworks, one birthday party and the New Year at midnight. If new year’s eve foretold the future, 2014 might be a year on the fast track. It looked like everyone had a good time. The kids all found friends and at times, nearly everyone went outside and so for a moment there was a calm inside the house. Outside there was a cacophony of bursts, explosions, snaps and pops as the fireworks went off all around us in the neighborhood. Happy New Year to you all!
Before the guests arrived we had a baking project with two of our girls. One had received a cake pops set and the other a tiered mini cake mold for Christmas. With only a little help, they baked for the party. I suppose that for now they will still need help, but it won’t be long and they will be working independently in the kitchen. So quickly they grow up. Whenever there is a birthday, I always think back to the day the child was born and their personality that has unfolded so far. Each one has their own unique character. Our birthday boy is so passionate about the things that are important to him. I’m not sure if he gets that from his Dad or Mom or maybe both. And he is a visualist. We once walked into a sea museum. You could describe the building as contemporary, with lots of light colored wood and curved shapes. He walked in and his eyes became large as plates as he looked around and climbed the stairs that are in the entryway and exclaimed, “This is an art building!” He was four at the time.
Grasshopper Pie for a Celebration
This Grasshopper pie is very loosely based on the recipe by Nigella Lawson. I usually do not use food coloring when cooking and baking as I like to go the more natural way, but I do make an exception when there are birthday parties and especially ones for children. I figure that it can’t hurt to have one day a year, in addition to Christmas, that is a “dream-come-true” type of day.
26 cookies (Oreo, Domino etc.)
60 g/2 oz good quality dark chocolate (70%), roughly chopped
85 g/3 tbsp butter, melted
150 g/5 oz mini marshmallows or large ones cut up into small pieces
1 dl/1/2 c milk
1/2 tsp peppermint flavoring
2 candy canes, crushed
a few drops of green food coloring
3.3 dl/1.4 heavy whipping cream
For the cookie crumb crust, line the bottom of a 20 cm/8 inch springform pan with parchment paper. Remove the white filling from the cookies and discard. Crush the cookies and melt the butter. I use a onion chopper (that is not used for onions) as my cookie crusher. It is a neat and effecient way to crush cookies for cookie crumb crusts. In a bowl mix the crushed cookies, melted butter and chopped dark chocolate. Pour into the lined springform pan and press evenly to form the crust. Place in the refrigerator to chill.
For the filling, place the milk and marshmallows (cut into four, if using large ones) into a medium saucepan. Heat until the milk is foaming but not boiling and remove from the heat. Stir constantly so that the marshmallows melt and forms a smooth mixture. Allow to cool. After the marshmallow mixture is cooled, whip the cream and fold into the marshmallow mixture. Fold in the peppermint flavoring, green food coloring and crushed candy cane. Pour into the springform pan and allow to set in the refrigerator for at least four hours or until overnight. Using a vegetable peeler, make dark chocolate curls to garnish.
If marshmallows are not on hand, this pie could be made using gelatin leaves and sugar to taste instead of marshmallows and milk. The marshmallows contain gelatin and glucose syrup, giving it a soft texture. This is definitely not a health food, but sometimes a little treat perhaps helps our mental health.
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Birthday celebration mixed with New Year’s Eve, so much joy! And such gorgeous cakes, and I love the little pursed lips blowing out the candles – so cute! We have a family friend’s birthday today and my father’s birthday tomorrow so the celebrations continue for us. I wish I had the Grasshopper Pie recipe earlier as it looks delicious!
Thank you so much Letizia! Hope you have a chance to try out the pie when your next celebration comes around as it is quite easy to make. Happy New Year to you!
Happy New year, what a party you had! Really it sounds like so much fun. I love the grasshopper pie, never would have thought to use marshmallows to set. I love chocolate and mint! Best wishes for a heathy and happy 2014!
I had never thought to use marshmallows either Suzanne, but since I happened to have a bag on hand and after surfing the net a bit I found inspiration from Nigella Lawson’s recipe, I thought I would give it a try. 🙂 The texture is softer in comparison to using gelatin leaves. Happy New Year!
Happy 2014 Laila! It looks like everyone had a glorious time! xx
Yes, we had a wonderful time. The kids are back in school today, so quickly the holidays slip by each year. Happy New Year!
Happy New Year, Laila! Sounds like that was one great party and the grasshopper pie looks delicious.
Thank you so much! It was a fun party and the kids did just wonderful. Happy New Year to you and yours!
Sounds like you all had a lovely time. Happy New Year!
Yes, it was lovely indeed! Happy New Year to you Lidia!
your kids sound beautiful, your images are gorgeous and your celebration sounds wonderful! happy 2014! xx
Oh, thank you so much! Happy New Year to you as well!
Happy New Year to you all! Best wishes for a wonderful 2014!
Thank you so much for stopping by and hope you have a wonderful New Year!
So much fun and excitement for everyone. It would hard for them to settle back to school!
It does seem a little hard to wake up so early in the morning now, but fortunately this first week is really short since they went back on Thursday and there is a three-day weekend ahead because of Epiphany on Monday and so it is not that bad. 🙂
You get a holiday for Epiphany! How wonderful.
All the best for the New Year to You and Yours, Laila! You seem to have had a smashing start of it!
Thank you so much! Yes it was a smashing start, literally 🙂 May 2014 be a wonderful year for you.
Happy New Year to you and your family! I agree that a birthday celebration is a good cause for making an exception and using some food coloring! 😉
The kids spend all year planning their birthdays and the menu for it. Of course, Mom sometimes need to gently guide or suggest to make things realistic! 🙂 Happy New Year to you and yours!
It sounds like a good time was had by all. I’m sure everyone enjoyed that grasshopper pie…it sounds delicious.
Thank you Karen!
Superb. Absolutely superb! 😀 have a great new year!
Thank you Nell…Happy New Year to you as well!
Happy New Year! As always, reading your post calm me down from the hustle and bustle of the city. Everything sounds so simple but great fun! This pie is new to me and certainly delicious. Why is it called a grasshopper pie?
Thank you Danny, and Happy New Year to you as well! After doing a little research it appears the pie is called grasshopper pie because of its green color. This pie most likely became popular in the 1950s and another option for inspiration of the pie is that there was a drink that had similar flavors and colors. I also did find that there was a pie from the Philippines that actually used sugar-coated grasshoppers. but I think this pie did not evolve from that.
Thank you very much for sharing. It is always so interesting to know the origin of any recipe and the findings always never fail to amaze me. Only if I can have a share the nest time you make it 🙂