Nostalgia in a Pie Shell

If I could go back in time to any era, I'd go back to the 50's.  The poodle skirts.  The saddle shoes.  The music.  Oh Lord...the music (my favorite!!!)  The simpler way of life.  I'd go back in a heartbeat.

I love the stories my grandma and grandpa tell about growing up in that era.  They were just the cutest...and still are :)  They married young and raised a family when times were so much simpler.  I love the way my grandpa's eyes light up when a Frank Sinatra song starts to play.  "My Way" will always be his song.  Such a precious man.

It's hard to picture their black and white memories in color, but I imagine they'd be akin to scenes from that movie Blast from the Past.  Did y'all ever see that?!  You know, the one with Sissy Spacek, Christopher Walken, Brendan Fraser, and Alicia Silverstone?!  I LOVE that movie!!!  Such a cheeseball thing for me to say, but it's true.  I love it!  I imagine them sitting around the table...grandma in her apron and pearls, grandpa in his police uniform (he was a LEO before he retired several years ago), and the kids in their Sunday best...eating a home cooked meal from scratch and finishing it off with something like this pie.  This is definitely a dessert that evokes a bit of nostalgia.

I made this one to take to grandma and grandpa's a few weeks ago because I knew they'd love it.  Especially grandpa.  What I didn't take into account was the 45 minute drive it had to survive.  It's made of ice cream.  I'll let you guess how that turned out.  Once the pie finally re-froze, it was time to dig in.  And I was right.  Grandpa loved it.  He practically devoured the entire thing :)

MALT SHOP PIE

1 pint of vanilla ice cream, softened

1/2 cup of chocolate malt balls, crushed (whoppers)

1 TBSP. chocolate malt powder

1 (9-in. ) graham cracker pie crust, pre-made

1 C. whipped cream

3 TBSP. chocolate malt powder

1 TBSP. marshmallow creme

Crushed chocolate malt balls (whoppers), for topping

This is a REALLY easy pie to prep and requires no baking on your part which means it'll end up in your mouth that much faster :)

In a large bowl, combine ice cream, 1/2 cup of the crushed malt balls (we used Whoppers), and 1 tablespoon of the chocolate malt powder and mix well.  Empty the contents of the bowl into the pre-made graham cracker pie shell.  You could, of course, make your own pie crust, but I'm all about the shortcuts so I cheated.  

Place the pie in the freezer until firm.  While the pie freezes ,mix the whipped cream, 3 tablespoons of malt powder, and the marshmallow creme in a small bowl. 

Remove the pie from the freezer (when firm) and spoon the whipped cream mixture on top of it.  Sprinkle with the additional crushed whoppers/chocolate malt balls.

This is definitely best served right outta the freezer and NOT after a 45 minute drive across town.  Just sayin'. ;)  HOWEVER, should you make the same mistake I did, you'll be happy to know that it re-freezes quite beautifully and tastes AMAZING anyway ;)  

This is definitely a dessert that will evoke a bit of nostalgia and have you running for the vinyl records and poodle skirts :) DELICIOUS!!!!