Chocolate Cream Pie

INGREDIENTS:

1 9-inch pie crust, baked and cooled (scratch or store-bought, I won’t judge)
½ cup Hershey’s cocoa powder
1⅛ cup granulated sugar — I always double-check this measurement because I can never remember if it’s 1 cup or more
⅓ cup cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
3 tablespoons real butter
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Sweetened whipped cream for the top
Chocolate shavings or sprinkles — optional, but why wouldn’t you

DIRECTIONS:

Start with your crust situation. Bake it, cool it, set it aside. Don’t rush this part — a hot crust is a problem you don’t want. If you’re making scratch crust, good for you. Roll it out, get it in the pan, bake it until it’s golden, let it cool on the counter. If you’re using store-bought, follow the package. Simple.
Now the filling. This is the part people get nervous about and I want you to relax. Take a medium saucepan — not small, you need room — and add all your dry ingredients: cocoa, sugar, cornstarch, salt. Whisk them together until they’re combined. This matters because if you dump the milk in before the dry stuff is mixed, you’ll get little clumps of cocoa that don’t want to dissolve. I’ve done it. It works out but it’s annoying.
Gradually — and I do mean gradually — pour in the milk while you whisk. Slow and steady. You’re building a smooth base …