This Chocolate Pie Was the Best Breakfast I’ve Had All Month

When I was growing up, my mother—a self-proclaimed health nut—would allow me a sweet treat every so often after dinner. My dessert of choice was instant chocolate pudding. Making this felt like a ritual. I’d stream milk into the powdery pudding mix, whisk with my whole arm, and patiently allow it to set in little bowls. Then I’d put on my negotiating hat, asking for spoonfuls midday. The response was always the same, “When you’re an adult, you can eat pudding for breakfast for all I care,” she’d say.

So this past weekend, in an effort to exercise some of that free will, my hungover self got to work making this Chocolate Cream Pie from Gourmet. It ran in a 2004 magazine issue and one reader reports they’ve had it on repeat ever since.

I started by making the chocolate cookie crust (I used Oreos). As the crust baked, the scent of cocoa and butter wafted through my kitchen, so pervasive my air purifier started to roar—a promising sign in my books.

Building the pudding was next. I mixed together the usual suspects—egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and milk—and whisked it over the stove until thick and custardy. This recipe has you stir in butter (for gloss and richness) plus two types of chocolate (bittersweet and unsweetened). The combination creates a robust chocolaty flavor, putting instant pudding to shame. And I couldn’t help but add a big pinch of salt to balance everything out.

After plopping the filling into the cookie crust, the hardest part had arrived: patiently waiting six hours. I binge-watched Below Deck. Then, once it was fully chilled, I cut a wobbly piece, stored it away for later, and invited friends over for the rest. Like Gourmet fans, they raved about it. Or as one friend put it, “Tastes like a fluffy cloud.”

The next morning, at a ripe 7 a.m., I wandered to the kitchen with crusty eyes and pulled out the pie. I didn’t bother to grab a plate, sat criss-cross-apple-sauce, and ate it in front of the fridge. Did it give me an unbelievable post-morning sugar crash? Yes. Did it taste like sweet freedom? Also yes.