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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 pie, you will also love this German chocolate cake. Both have the best chocolate flavors and are perfect for celebrating those special days!
Ingredients for the Best German Chocolate Pie
Grab your pie plate and let’s get ready to make the best coconut pecan german chocolate pie! Don’t let this list of ingredients scare you. These are all staple ingredients in your pantry, ready to make the world’s best pie!
- 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.
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. For a perfectly flaky and tasty pie crust, see our Perfect Pie Crust Recipe. As good as the pie crust is, the chocolate pie filling is what makes this pie so incredible. Honestly the best chocolate pie recipe I’ve had.
Loaded with decadent flavors and textures, it is almost like eating a German chocolate brownie in a pie crust, only better. Just imagine moist, dense, rich chocolate, coconut, and pecan in every bite. Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is!
Tips for Easy German Chocolate Pie
Luckily, this recipe is pretty straight forward, and the flavor combination is overwhelmingly the best! This classic pie is full of coconut, chocolate, and pecans. There are not too many tips or variations for chocolate german pie but make this pie your own and enjoy every bit of it!
- Chocolate: The key to melting chocolate is going slow. Melt your butter first, then slowly stir the chocolate and the butter together. You can even use a saucepan instead of the microwave.
- Pie pan: If you double this recipe, make sure to have a deep dish pie pan. This will hold all the contents inside the pie plate.
- Toppings: Add extra toasted coconut, chopped pecans, and cool whip or heavy whipping cream on top!
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.
Keep any leftover pie in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Yes! You can either freeze the pie cooked or uncooked. You can freeze and bake, or freeze and thaw to bake. There are a few options when it comes to dessert pies.
How to Store Homemade German Chocolate Pie
Making pies is the fun part! Pies are simple to make, feed many, and can be frozen or baked. There are so many options to take care of a pie compared to other desserts. Pick which way is best for you!
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 for 5 to 7 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.
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 German Chocolate Recipes
We are crazy about German chocolate recipes, and have a bunch on Favorite Family Recipes. Try one of these delicious choices with the main ingredient, German chocolate. You know you can’t go wrong with that!
- German Chocolate Fudge – A smooth and creamy fudge topped with a coconut pecan layer.
- German Chocolate Cookie Bars, – An easy cookie bar recipe with a chocolate “cookie” layer, topped with a chocolate chip, pecan, coconut layer.
- German Chocolate Waffles – A chocolate waffle with coconut frosting topped with a praline pecan syrup.
More Pie Recipes
We love to have a wide variety of pies for Thanksgiving and other special occasions. Some of our other favorite pies are listed below:
- Chocolate Satin Pie – a rich chocolate filling – way better than a chocolate pudding filling.
- Chocolate Haupia Pie – Chocolate haupia pie is a popular pie found in Hawaii. It’s a rich chocolate pie with a coconut haupia layer and topped with whipped cream.
- Costco Peanut Butter Chocolate Cream Pie – a copycat of the famous Costco pie.
How to Make German Chocolate Pie
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.
You have listed the ingredients but no amounts
Keep scrolling down to the recipe card and you will find the amounts!
This looks fantastic! I can’t wait to try it. Do you use sweetened or unsweetened coconut?
Sweetened!
I would like to make this for Christmas dinner dessert at a friend’s house but I have one question. What size pie plate do I use? 8″ or 9″?
Can’t wait to try this recipe….I love coconut and my friend is a chocoholic! 🙂 Thanks!
Use a 9″! Happy Baking and Merry Christmas!
Thank you!! I can’t wait to try it! 🙂 Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Would toasting the coconut and pecans improve the taste, or would that be a waste of time, since they are folded into the pie?
Good question, since I’ve never tried toasting them I can’t tell you for sure, but I think it would give the coconut more texture in the pie and the pecans more of a crunch. If you want a smoother texture, don’t toast. Thanks for asking!
Try this: 2.25 cup white sugar + .25 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Add: 1 cup evaporate milk, 3 eggs, half stick of real butter melted, 1.5 tsp vanilla, .25 tsp salt. Mix but don’t beat.
Stir in: .5 cup chopped pecans + .5 cup coconut
Pour into unbaked pie crust. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, cover with foil bake 15 min more. The middle will be jiggly but will firm when cooled.
In this recipe it calls for 1/2 cup flour is this flour plain or selfrusing
It is all-purpose flour!
Does the German chic pie need to be refrigerated?
We usually do refrigerate it.