Mom’s Chocolate Pie Filling

Heat 2 cups of milk in top of a double boiler over medium-low heat.

Prepare a pie crust, either from scratch or store-bought (follow package instructions), place in an 8 or 9-inch pie plate, and pre-bake the pie shell since the pie is not baked.

In separate bowl mix the 1-1/4 cups of sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, salt, egg yolks and 1/4 cup of milk. Add this mixture slowly to the heated milk and cook, stirring constantly, until thick. Cover and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and butter. Beat until smooth. Pour into a prepared pie shell.

Top the chocolate filling with meringue made from the 6 tablespoons of sugar and the 2 egg whites beaten until stiff.

Brown the pie/meringue in a 350F degree oven. Watch closely as the meringue will burn easily. It’s done when it’s lightly browned.

I prefer to use a whipped cream topping on mine instead of the meringue but that’s purely a personal choice. If you go that direction, be sure to allow the pie filling to cool completely before adding the whipped cream.

Enjoy!