Back in the early 1970s, my mother found a recipe for chocolate pie in a magazine ad for Hershey’s Cocoa. The ad featured a story about a snow ghost that wanted a piece of that pie. (I won’t ruin the story for you. Click the picture to read how it turned out.)

The story was cute, but the Snow Ghost Pie recipe made one of the best chocolate pies ever. Mom made it that Thanksgiving, and it became an instant family classic. I introduced the recipe to my partner when we spent our first Thanksgiving together, and she was hooked. She’s is in the kitchen right now, making two Snow Ghost pies for Thanksgiving.

I don’t know how many people know about Snow Ghost Pie these days, so I thought I would pass the recipe along. The recipe is original to the ad. I guarantee every snow ghost within 100 miles will come drifting by for a piece.

Ingredients

• 1 (9 inch) baked pastry shell or crumb crust
• 1/2 cup Hershey’s Cocoa
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 cups milk
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• Sweetened whipped cream

Instructions

1. Combine cocoa, sugar, salt and cornstarch in a medium saucepan.
2. Gradually blend milk into dry ingredients, stirring until smooth.
3. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until filling boils; boil 1 minute.
4. Remove from heat; blend in butter and vanilla.
5. Pour into pie crust.
6. Carefully press plastic wrap directly onto pie filling.
7. Cool.
8. Chill 3 to 4 hours.
9. Garnish with whipped cream.

NOTE: This post is a part of an effort to document as many family recipes as I can remember.