S’mores Ice Box Pie

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If you have been around the Neistat family for at least one summer, you have likely experienced the famous ice box éclair cake that our dad makes. If you haven’t been lucky enough to eat it, we know you’ve heard about it. The gist of the ice box eclair cake is layers of graham crackers and thick vanilla pudding topped with a rich layer of chocolate ganache. He claims his recipe is a secret (we are pretty sure it can be found on the back of a pudding box somewhere) and that he won’t share it with us, or you. In lieu of sharing his recipe, we have done our best to reimagine this dessert into something of our own. Introducing our S’mores Ice Box Pie: everything we love about Rick’s ice box eclair cake, in pie form, with a gooey torched marshmallow twist for summer.

S'mores Ice Box Pie

  • Servings: 8 - 10
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The perfect chilled summer dessert that is a guaranteed crowd pleaser. While you can make this pie with about 60 minutes of refrigeration time, it can also be prepared the night before if you want to get some of your cooking done in advance.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of graham cracker (about 10 crackers)
  • 1/2 stick of melted unsalted butter
  • 1 packet of French vanilla pudding
  • 2 1/4 cups whole milk, divided
  • 8 oz. cool whip
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • marshmallows

Directions

  1. Prepare the crust. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a Cuisinart, pulse the graham crackers until they are all broken down into crumbs. Add the melted butter and stir to combine. Place the graham cracker mix in a pie dish going up 1/2 inch on the side of the pie. Gently press the crackers into the pan to form a crust. Bake the crust for 10 minutes and set aside to cool.
  2. While the pie is cooking, prepare the pudding. Combine the vanilla pudding packet and 2 cups of milk and whisk until a thick pudding forms. Lightly fold in the cool whip. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or until chilled.
  3. After the pudding has chilled for at least 30 minutes, prepare the chocolate sauce. In a microwave safe cup, combine the chocolate chips and remaining 1/4 cup milk. Microwave for 1 minute, and then 30 seconds at a time, until the chocolate is fully melted. Stir to combine with the milk to form a sauce.
  4. Assemble the pie. Layer the pudding/cool whip mix over the graham cracker crust. Pour the chocolate sauce over the pie and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to 24 hours, until the chocolate sauce has hardened. If you are refrigerating overnight, insert a few toothpicks to the outside of the pie and gently tent with saran wrap.
  5. Before serving, add a layer of marshmallows to the top of the pie. We love to torch the marshmallows to make them extra gooey. There are two options for this, a kitchen torch or broiling quickly in the oven. If using a torch, lightly toast the marshmallows to your desired level and serve immediately. If broiling, set the oven to high and put the pie in the oven for no more than one minute. Serve immediately.

S’mores Blondies

2 Comments

We love making bite sized desserts for a party because they can be made in advance and don’t require any last minute effort in the kitchen. Particularly for the Super Bowl, where you typically don’t want to be cooking and tending to food in the kitchen throughout the game, it is nice to be able to have this step taken care of well in advance. This blondie recipe is a sure crowd pleaser and we especially love the addition of the s’mores toppings to the mix. The mixed in marshmallows make the blondies extra chewy and the chocolate chunks make them even more decadent…. how can anybody say no to that?! These are a family favorite from everyone aged 1.5 to 86, and we know they will be a favorite of yours, too!

S'mores Blondies

  • Servings: 24 bite sized blondies
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Our favorite blondie recipe, made “s’mores style” with marshmallows, graham crackers, & Hershey bars.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup salted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted
  • 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3/4 tsp baking power
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup mini marshmallows
  • 1/2 cup graham crackers, broken into small pieces
  • 1/2 cup Hershey’s chocolate bars, broken into small pieces
  • 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips, to drizzle on top of the bars (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8 x 11 Pyrex baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
  2. Use a hand mixer to mix the melted butter and brown sugar in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until well blended. Add the vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, salt and flour to the batter. Mix on a low speed until just combined. Add 1/3 cup of the mini marshmallows, graham cracker pieces, and Hershey’s bars to the batter. Mix just to combine.
  3. Use a spatula to pour the batter into the baking dish. It will be thick; use the spatula to make sure that everything is in an even layer in the pan. Bake the blondies for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, quickly remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining pieces of graham cracker, Hershey’s bar, and mini marshmallows. Bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the blondies cool completely before slicing.
  4. If you want to add the chocolate drizzle to the bars, melt the dark chocolate in the microwave after the bars have been cooled and sliced. Use a spoon or paper cone to lightly drizzle over top the blondies.