Recipe Review: Andes Candies Mint Pie

Recipe: Andes Candies Mint Pie
Found: Facebook
Original Source: Delish
Rating: 7/10
Review Summary:

I saw this recipe on Facebook, and because I love Andes Candies, and I love pie, this absolutely had to happen. The time of the year that I actually made this was near Christmas, so I also felt secure that I could find the Andes Candies that I would need in order to follow the recipe properly.

It was not difficult to put together, which was nice. The hardest part for me was folding everything together, but that was because I didn’t have a good size spatula to make things happen. Rectified that with a Christmas wish list, because hell if I’m using a spatula meant for mayonnaise jars again to fold a recipe together! I also cheated on the crust, and just bought an Oreo crust from the supermarket. I usually take pride in doing everything from scratch, but for this I was not only feeling lazy, but also I have a boyfriend who would have eaten all my crust material before I made this if I had brought Oreos into the house. So I took the easy way out.

For something that is essentially a whipped cream pie, it is heavy. It sits like a lump in the belly, and it does not want to move. Granted, I have stomach issues, but even my iron-stomach boyfriend agreed that this sits like a rock. Small slices are essential. The mint is really overpowering because of the Andes Candies, and it’s an extremely rich dessert. Do not cut typical pie piece sizes. I’d recommend halving that when serving this dish, because it really is that rich.

More chocolate chips are also probably not a bad idea, to help counter-balance the mint better. And not sprinkled on the top, but actually mixed in. For 3/4tsp. of mint, it’s really minty. I was surprised, because I make a mint fudge that uses a small layer of mint in the middle to achieve the taste (much like an Andes Candy), and that calls for a whole tablespoon (possibly 2tbls., I cannot remember off-hand), and it’s not nearly as minty! So shocked was an adequate description of my reaction to first taste.

Oddly enough, this pie is much better the day after. It’s like the mint mellows a bit, and so you get a better flavor overall I felt. It still sits like a rock though, so small portions are a constant essential. Even the most seasoned sweet tooth will thank you for not serving a large portion.

So while it wasn’t a terrible recipe, it’s definitely one that I have to seriously consider before I make this again. It was tasty, but it was a lot. For me, I don’t think I’ll make it for just myself and my boyfriend. Perhaps if we’re having at least four other people join us for a meal, that’d be better. After all, with how rich this is, neither of us wanted a whole lot, so we actually weren’t going to be able to finish the leftovers (and we pawned a decent portion off on my parents and siblings to keep us from wasting food).

As a couple of side notes: I purchased two boxes of Andes Candies in the grocery store, and used the majority of them (takes about 28-32 to get the measurement). For the melted chocolate, I used a double-boiler with a little bit of the left-over heavy cream to make it easier to drizzle. Double-boiler, in case you are not aware, just keeps the chocolate from burning. Remember too that whisking and beating are two different things, and there are different mixer attachments to facilitate this. If you use the store-bought crust like I did, the pie itself is also physically heavy so I placed the crust (tin and all) into a regular pie plate for supportive purposes. Anything would work here though, even a normal dinner plate.