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.
Now turn the heat to medium-high and just… stay there. Don’t walk away. Don’t go check your phone. This filling will go from loose to thick and it happens kind of fast once it gets going. Keep whisking and stirring, scraping the bottom and the sides. It will start to bubble and thicken — you’ll see it change. Let it come to a full boil and then boil for one full minute. That minute matters. It’s what finishes cooking the cornstarch so you don’t get that raw, chalky taste.
Pull it off the heat. Add the butter and vanilla. Whisk until the butter is completely melted and everything looks glossy and smooth and frankly gorgeous. It will be thick. It should be thick. It should coat a spoon and hold its shape a little.
Pour the filling into your cooled crust. It will look like too much — it’s not. Smooth the top if you want, or don’t. Cover it with plastic wrap pressed right against the surface so you don’t get a skin forming on top, then refrigerate for at least four to six hours. Overnight is better. I made mine this morning and I’m writing this post and the pie is sitting in my fridge and I am not going to touch it until after dinner. That’s the deal I made with myself.
When it’s set — really set, firm when you press the plastic wrap gently — take it out, add your whipped cream, top it with chocolate shavings or sprinkles, and cut into it.