| 1 | Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. |
| 2 | In the top of a double boiler, melt the chocolate. |
| 3 | Add to the butter-sugar mixture and beat thoroughly. |
| 4 | Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg, until well blended. |
| 5 | Fold in the peppermint and vanilla. |
| 6 | Line the pie tin with the vanilla wafer crumbs (buttering the pie tin makes them stick to the side a little better). |
| 7 | Pour in the filling. |
| 8 | Refrigerate for two hours. |
| 9 | Notes: * decadent chocolate mint pie -- one of the things that is memorable about marshall field"s department store in chicago is their "frango chocolate mints." this pie captures the flavor perfectly. |
| 10 | I got the recipe from malcolm slaney, who "found it in a cookbook when [he was] attending kayak school in oregon." * this recipe fills a shallow 8 inch pie tin; add 50 percent to everything to fill a 9-inch pie tin. |
| 11 | * if you"re not very good at pie crusts (i"m not), feel free to use a pre-formed graham cracker crust. |
| 12 | The chocolate and mint flavors predominate, no matter what crust you use. |
| 13 | * this is serious decadence! the first time i made this, i stopped several times in disbelief of just what i was doing. |
| 14 | Enjoy! : difficulty: moderate (melting chocolate is tricky). |
| 15 | : time: 30 minutes preparation, several hours chilling. |
| 16 | : precision: measure the ingredients. |
