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This German Chocolate Pie recipe idea comes straight from Amish country. The rich, gooey, chocolate filling is to die for!
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While traveling through a small Amish town several years ago, we stopped at an authentic Amish restaurant that served German Chocolate Pie. It was so good, we ended up buying an entire pie to eat the next day. Ever since then, I have been dreaming about, drooling over, and seriously craving this pie.
After many attempts, I think I have finally perfected it! I knew I had it right when my family ate the entire pie out of the pan before it even had time to cool! If you are a fan of German chocolate cake, you will love this pie. Both have delicious flavors and texture of chocolate, pecans, and coconut.
Ingredients
Grab your pie plate and let’s get ready. Don’t let this list of ingredients scare you. These are all staple ingredients in your pantry.
- Unbaked pie crust – Store bought or homemade pie crust works for this recipe. Make it easier or homemade, either way will be delicious.
- Butter – Melt your butter in the microwave before adding to the chocolate chips. I like to use unsalted butter.
- Chocolate chips – I used semi-sweet chocolate chips, but milk or dark chocolate will work well too. The butter and chocolate chips will blend together and melt in unison in a small bowl. This works great to prevent lumps.
- Flour – I used all-purpose flour for the pie. This holds the ingredients together and helps bind the wet ingredients.
- Brown sugar and sugar – The sugars bring in the sweetness for the german pie and adds a bit of sugary texture. Mix sugar together with the flour to make a base for the chocolate mixture.
- Eggs – Whisk together the eggs with either a fork or small whisk.
- Vanilla extract – Adds an extra touch of flavor!
- Pecans and coconut – It is traditional to have pecans and coconut over top and occasionally in the german chocolate. Together, they make the best combination! If you need to change the pecans to another type of nuts, that will work too.
- Optional: top with some whipped topping, toasted coconut, and chocolate shavings or dust with a little cocoa powder.
How to Make German Chocolate Pie
Start with the crust: The pie crust is simply a basic pie crust. You can buy a frozen or refrigerated crust or make your own. Just don’t use a graham cracker crust for this one, you want a nice pastry like baked pie shell. Don’t cook the pie crust, it will cook along with the German Chocolate filling. For a perfectly flaky and tasty pie crust, see our Perfect Pie Crust Recipe.
Make the filling: Melt the butter and add chocolate chips. Stir until the mixture is completely smooth. Combine the flours and sugars in a separate bowl. Slowly add the melted chocolate into the dry ingredients. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla. Gently fold in the remaining chocolate chips, pecans, and coconut. Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust.
Bake: Place the pie in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until the pie is set. You don’t want to over bake the pie. After 35 minutes, check if it’s done by placing a toothpick into the center of the pie. If the toothpick comes out clean, remove the pie from the oven and cool. If the toothpick comes out with some batter on it, continue to bake and check it again in 5 minutes. Repeat, if necessary.
Serving the pie: After the pie is cooled, it’s ready to eat. The pie will have a similar texture to a brownie. Toppings aren’t necessary, but it can be topped with toasted coconut and/or chopped pecans. It is also good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.
Frequently Asked Questions
German chocolate pie has all the pantry staples like sugar, vanilla, eggs, flour, plus the traditional german chocolate favorites like chocolate, pecans, and coconut. This pie has a caramel- coconut frosting that has a fudge and chocolatey filling.
Back in 1852, a man named Samuel German developed a type of dark baking chocolate for the chocolate company. He was known to be one of the best bakers back then. In honor of him, the company used his name for the Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate.
Chocolate is more semi-sweet chocolate and less fat compared German chocolate. German chocolate is known to be more sweet and has more flavorings with a mixture of chocolate liquor, sugar cocoa butter, and fat from egg yolks.
That will work too! It may be more work, but you can take one ounce of bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate plus ½ tablespoon sugar for each ounce of German chocolate in the recipe. You can also use baking chips for the amount of chocolate in this substitution too.
Yes! After the pie has cooled to room temperature, cover it tightly with a layer of cellophane wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil. To thaw, place it on the counter for a 3-4 hours before serving.
Rave Review
“Well…I made this pie without the substitution and used the ingredients called for in the recipe and, OMG, this pie is totally awesome and had to come directly from a bakery off the golden streets in heaven…most likely the Pearly Gates bakery!! You are correct it is a very dense pie and so very rich. We could only eat a sliver at a time. We tried it room temp and straight from the fridge, but we found we like to microwave it for about 15 seconds, eat, or add a small scoop of ice cream or whipped cream. This will be a must have holiday pie from now on. I also plan to make some as gifts for the coming holidays. Thank you so much for sharing this, God Bless.”
– Scott
Read More: 33+ Easy Dessert Recipes
More Pie Recipes
We love to have a wide variety of pies for Thanksgiving and other special occasions. Try some more of our favorites!
German Chocolate Pie
Video
Ingredients
- 1 uncooked pie crust store bought or homemade
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips divided
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 3/4 cup flaked coconut
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place uncooked pie crust in pie tin.
- In small bowl, microwave butter until completely melted. Add 1 cup chocolate chips and stir until smooth.
- In separate bowl, stir together flour and sugars.
- Slowly add chocolate/butter mixture and stir until blended.
- Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla.
- Fold in pecans, coconut, and ¼ cup chocolate chips.
- Pour into unbaked pie crust. Bake 35-40 minutes or until top is set. DON'T OVER BAKE!
- Allow to cool before serving.
- Optional: top with some whipped topping, toasted coconut, and chocolate shavings or dust with a little cocoa powder.
Notes
How to Store German Chocolate Pie
- Frozen or refrigerated, either way, you do need to place the pies in an airtight container and/or plastic wrap the whole pie or individual slices. Once the pie is baked, place it in an air tight container on the counter for 3 to 5 days.
- If you are making ahead of time and want to store it in the freezer, wrap it tightly and place in the freezer. When ready to thaw, place on the counter overnight or bake a little longer for a frozen pie.
If you double it for deep dish , what would be the cooking time ?
I haven’t tried it that way, so I’m not sure. If I were trying it, I would start with the suggested 35-40 minutes and then just check it every 5-10 minutes after that until the top is set.
I love a recipe with a backstory like this and this one doesn’t disappoint! Such a sweet delicious pie.
Well this is DELICOUS! I’m making it again for Thanksgiving. Love it!
What a fabulous recipe. I substituted flaxseed meal as an egg substitute for my diet and it still worked out beautifully. Thank you!
Easy but it wasn’t really pourable. More like spoon
Can you make this with a graham cracker crust?
We haven’t tried it that way before, but let us know how it turns out!
How anyone can make a negative comment about this recipe is beyond me! This pie is everything you would want in a pie…and its completely simple to make and it knocks everyone who tastes it off their feet!!
Thank you for sharing. I make it often!!
Pie is extremely sugary. Needs something to balance the sugar. It’s delicious though.
Made it for Father’s day. This pie was a hit! I eliminated the 1/2 C white sugar. Cooked it at 325F in conventional oven. After it cooled, I put it in the fridge. Got it out 1 hr before serving. My family loved it. Will definitely do it again.
I had to lower my stars because of the comments I received. I made this last night for a nursing home activity. I added homemade German Chocolate frosting so it would taste like German Chocolate. Here are the comments I received:
– Really good
– Less coconut
– Pretty good
– Tastes like fudge
The way the batter came out was kinda thick like you said, but I knew it looked like fudge instead of pie filling. Will not make again.
I wish I had everything on hand now because I would seriously make this right now. It looks so delicious and we even have ice cream to go with it, just not all of the pie ingredients. Perfect too because we have coconut ice cream in the freezer, I am sure they would pair well – guess who is probably running to the store haha!
I would probably refrigerate it but I am guessing it doesn’t NEED to be refrigerated. I can’t tell you for sure. If you want to play it safe I would say refrigerate it. Hope this helps!
This was excellent! The whole family enjoyed it. I will certainly make it again.
So glad you and your family enjoyed it! Thanks for the nice comment!
This pie looks amazing! I am going to make it for a family Christmas party this weekend. However, the party is 3 hours away so I will need to make the pie ahead of time. I would like to serve it warm. What is the best way to reheat it? In the oven or the microwave?
Our recipe is best served cooled, so I haven’t tried reheating it. I would be nervous that it would end up over-baking the pie. Hope this helps!
The flour in this recipe is it self rising or all purpose? Can’t wait to make it for Thanksgiving!
Hi Tammy, We use all-purpose flour in this recipe. You are going to LOVE this pie!