Though the simplest thing can become a tradition any time of year, many families tend to have the most traditions during the holiday season. For some, that might mean building gingerbread houses and baking holiday cookies. For others, it’s drinking hot chocolate while they decorate the Christmas tree or watch their favorite holiday movie.
One thing that many holiday traditions have in common, though, is that they center around a recipe. Whether it’s the way your mom makes the glazed ham or the one side dish that your aunt always brings, the foods we eat during the holidays can instantly evoke a feeling of nostalgia.
So many of us likely have that one cherished (and well-loved) recipe card that’s been passed down for years, and always makes an appearance during the holiday season. And recently, I learned that’s even the case for actress Melissa Joan Hart.
Melissa Joan Hart’s Grandma’s Holiday Dessert
Mackenzie Schieck
At a recent event debuting her partnership with Ancestry, Hart told the crowd that she had brought her grandma’s handwritten recipe card for her favorite holiday dessert. What’s more, it was a dish she’d never shared with anyone before. The secret recipe (that’s not a secret anymore) is for Hart’s Nanny’s French Silk Pie, which she has discussed in many interviews over the years.
“The one thing I always have to have for Thanksgiving and Christmas is a French silk pie that was my grandma’s recipe. Even if you find something called a French silk pie, it won’t be the same thing. It is just heaven on earth,” the “A Merry Little Ex-Mas” star told Lifetime.
Now you won’t have to guess what makes Hart’s Nanny’s French silk pie taste like heaven because we have the official recipe—and it couldn’t be easier to make.
How To Make Melissa Joan Hart’s Grandma’s French Silk Pie
Allrecipes / Melissa Joan Hart
To make Hart’s cherished family French silk pie recipe, you’ll first need a pie crust—either store-bought or homemade. If you make your own, make sure it’s fully cooled before adding the filling.
For that, you’ll need 1/2 cup of butter, 3/4 cup of sugar, 1 ounce of melted and cooled baker’s chocolate, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, and two eggs. First, you’ll cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl, then blend the chocolate and vanilla into the mixture. Finally, add the eggs one at a time, “beating a full five minutes with each egg,” the recipe reads.
You’ll spoon the pie filling into the crust and “hello beautiful,” as Hart wrote in an Instagram post showing off the pie. You’ll have to wait for the filling to set up in the fridge for at least two hours, but the hard work is done and you didn’t even have to turn your oven on.
Now that Hart has finally shared the secret to her favorite holiday recipe, who knows, maybe it’ll become an heirloom in your family, too.
Dining and Cooking