Chocolate French Silk Pie Bars with Graham Toffee Crust
These Chocolate French Silk Pie Bars with Graham Toffee Crust are destined to become your next best Thanksgiving feast tradition!
Thanksgiving is now just a couple weeks away. If you’re in charge of dessert, I have a fantastic recipe for you to show off with. This recipe for Chocolate French Silk Pie Bars with Graham Toffee Crust is out of this world delicious!
Last year we hosted Thanksgiving for Blake’s family in our home. Blake smoked a turkey on the Big Green Egg in the back yard, while the girls and I created a harvest salad, fresh cranberry sauce, homemade green bean casserole (recipe coming soon!), potatoes au gratin, and a French silk pie. It’s a good thing that we started making the meal the day prior, that another family member brought a pumpkin dessert, and that we had planned to shortcut the bread course with some Rhodes rolls. Because, my oh my, that meal was alot of work!
We will not be hosting this year, which I’m quite alright with. But we will be contributing to a meal or two. I’m waiting to hear back from family on final plans, to know what we will be tasked with making. But once they see these French silk pie bars published here, I’m guessing this recipe will be added to our list. Which I’m more than alright with!
The French silk pie recipe I’ve been making for the past couple years has an outstanding salted pecan crust. But with these bars, I wanted to try out a graham cracker crust. With a twist, of course. My mind wandered to toffee.
The crust comes together quickly with just a few ingredients. And it’s so easy to make. Simply press the mixture into an 8″ square pan and bake for 10 minutes.
I made a number of pans of these bars, getting the recipe just right. And I can tell you that this crust will stay beautifully crisp for a few days in the refrigerator, making this dessert an easy one to put together a day or two before Thanksgiving.
For those of you who suffer with frustration in making traditional pie crust (pick me!), this is your surefire way to create a dessert to be proud of. The slices of bars come out crisp and clean, with some tips I included in the recipe below.
I’ve been a fan of this pie since I was just a kid. Topped with a big dollop of sweetened whipped cream and chocolate shavings, it’s irresistible to me. Its luscious texture, like a thick and creamy, ultra smooth pudding, was created for kids to fall in love with. It’s a good thing that being a kid doesn’t have to be defined by our age, as I intend to enjoy French silk pie forever and ever.
Chocolate French Silk Pie Bars with Graham Toffee Crust
These Chocolate French Silk Pie Bars with Graham Toffee Crust are destined to become your next best Thanksgiving feast tradition!
Ingredients
for the graham toffee crust:
- 1 c. graham cracker crumbs
- 1 T. sugar
- 1/8 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/4 c. toffee bits (I used Heath Bits ‘O Brickle Toffee Bits
- 4 T. unsalted butter, melted
for the chocolate French silk pie filling:
- 2 oz. bittersweet chocolate (I used Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bar
- 2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (I used Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Bar
- 1 c. unsalted butter, softened
- 1.5 c. powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. espresso powder
- pinch of kosher salt
- 4 large pasteurized eggs, at room temperature
- freshly whipped and sweetened cream
- bittersweet chocolate shavings
Instructions
for the graham toffee crust:
- Preheat oven to 325° F.
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, salt, and toffee bits. Pulse a few times to combine and to break down the toffee bits just a bit. Add the melted butter and pulse a few times, until mixture is combined and evenly moistened by the butter.
- Pour mixture out into an 8” x 8” pan, and firmly press into an even layer onto the bottom of the pan. Bake for about 10 minutes, until fragrant and slightly golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.* Note: to achieve ultra clean cuts of bars like you see in my photos, line your pan with a strip of foil first. Simply fold a 16'' long piece of foil into an 8'' x 16'' strip and place in an 8'' square baking pan, leaving an overhang on 2 sides. Press the graham toffee crust mix into the bottom of the pan that is lined with foil and bake. Proceed with the remainder of the recipe as usual. Once the bars are chilled, run a knife around the perimeter of the pan to loosen it, and then carefully lift the bars from the pan by pulling up on the foil lining. Place bars on a cutting board and then slice into squares. To get clean cuts, dip a long, thin, non-serrated knife into a tall, warm glass of water and then wipe knife clean after each cut.
for the chocolate French silk pie filling:
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, gently melt chocolates in the microwave, taking care to not scorch. Set aside and let cool until chocolate mixture is at room temperature.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixture, using the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Drizzle chocolate over butter/sugar mixture and beat on medium-low speed until thoroughly combined. Add vanilla, espresso powder, and salt, and beat until combined.
- Switch to the whisk attachment. Then add one egg and beat for 5 minutes on medium speed. Repeat with remaining three eggs, beating the mixture for an additional 5 minutes with each egg addition, for a total of 20 minutes of beating.
- Pour chocolate filling into cooled graham toffee crust, spreading evenly with a spatula. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or until thoroughly chilled before serving.
- To serve, top with freshly whipped sweetened cream. Garnish with chocolate shavings.
Notes
The filling portion of this recipe was adapted from The Pioneer Woman’s French Silk Pie.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 320Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 91mgSodium: 80mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 2gSugar: 19gProtein: 4g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Nutritionix. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.
Well, it being that today is National Pie Day, I think that these bars are absolutely appropriate! :-) AWESOME.
Oooooo…now I want to make them, just to celebrate! Hope you are doing extra great, Jessie! :)
I made this yesterday exactly as written and I must say THIS IS DELISH!!! I put Cool Whip on it though since I’m taking it to a party tonight and was the easiest way to do the whipped cream. Also threw some chocolate sprinkles on it instead of the shaved chocolate. Best dessert I’ve made in awhile and the expresso powder really made it great and I don’t drink coffee. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
I love to hear this! I just ran into a friend yesterday who made it for Thanksgiving – and she was “told” she had to make it again for Christmas. It also makes me smile to hear your comment about using the espresso powder. Because every time I include it in a recipe, people ask if they can omit it because they don’t like coffee. I always try to convince them to just try it. It only enhances the chocolate flavor in baked goods. Thank you so much for coming back to leave a comment! :)
do you have to put the espresso powder in?
It’s not essential to the recipe, but I do hope you try it. Espresso powder really helps to deepen the flavor of chocolate. Thanks, Jackie!
Would it work to double the recipe for a 9×13 pan?
I had issues with doubling it. I think the additional eggs and beating made it funky. It’s something I hope to work on, to create a larger serving!
If I don’t make French silk pie for Thanksgiving, then it’s a must for Christmas! I think it may be bars this year! That crust sounds incredible :)
Oh, such a great dessert! And so perfect for the holidays.
This will be on our Thanksgiving Day table. My not-lover-pumpkin-pie husband will be very happy, thanks Brenda! :)
Love the graham toffee crust! These bars need a place at our Thanksgiving dessert table!
Oh my goodness, this is the ultimate dessert bar! I love everything about this recipe!
This is my weakness!! Like I love this dessert!! YUM!
I saw the pictures of the grilling on the BGE. You know how I love the Egg :-)
Can’t think of anything better to go with such a wonderful meal than these bars!