Dick Taeuber's Brandy Alexander Pie

Name: Dick Taeuber's Brandy Alexander Pie
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: american
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups graham-cracker crumbs; 1/3 cup melted butter; 1 envelope unflavored gelatin; 2/3 cup sugar; teaspoon salt; 3 eggs, separated; 1/4 cup Cognac; 1/4 cup creme de cacao; 1 cup heavy cream; Food coloring (optional); Chocolate curls, for garnish

Recipe from Dick Taeuber

Adapted by Amanda Hesser

Updated June 5, 2023

Dick Taeuber's Brandy Alexander Pie — Tom Schierlitz for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Brian Preston-Campbell.

Total Time: 30 minutes, plus overnight refrigeration
Rating: 4(147)
Comments: Read comments

In January 1970, The Times published a recipe for brandy Alexander pie. It was an unassuming confection: a graham-cracker crust filled with a wobbly, creamy mousse and enough alcohol to raise the hair on your neck and then make your neck wobbly too. Later that year, Craig Claiborne, then the food editor, declared it one of the paper’s three most-requested dessert recipes and ran it again. By rights, this should have been the recipe’s swan song.

But thanks to Dick Taeuber, a Maryland statistician, the pie lived on. Taeuber discovered that you could use a simple formula to make the pie in the flavor of almost any cocktail you wanted (3 eggs to 1 cup cream to ½ cup liquor). In 1975, Claiborne renamed it Dick Taeuber’s cordial pie and published it once more, this time with all 20 variations (see note).

Calling it a cordial pie doesn’t quite capture its punch or proof. Booze pie would be more fitting. It’s not the kind of thing you want to serve for a children’s birthday party. —Amanda Hesser

Featured in: Recipe Redux; 1975: Dick Taeuber's Cordial Pie

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings

1½cups graham-cracker crumbs
⅓cup melted butter
1envelope unflavored gelatin
⅔cup sugar
teaspoon salt
3eggs, separated
¼cup Cognac
¼cup creme de cacao
1cup heavy cream
Food coloring (optional)
Chocolate curls, for garnish

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the crumbs with butter. Form in a 9-inch pan and bake for 10 minutes. Cool.
Step 2
Pour ½ cup cold water in a saucepan and sprinkle gelatin over it. Add ⅓ cup sugar, salt and egg yolks. Stir to blend. Place over low heat and stir until the gelatin dissolves and the mixture thickens. Do not boil. Remove from heat.
Step 3
Stir the Cognac and creme de cacao into the mixture. Then chill until the mixture starts to mound slightly when nudged with a spoon.
Step 4
Beat the egg whites until stiff, then add the remaining ⅓ cup sugar and beat until peaks are firm. Fold the meringue into the thickened mixture.
Step 5
Whip the cream, then fold into the mixture. Add food coloring if desired. Turn the mixture into the crust. Add garnish, if desired. Chill several hours or overnight.

Tip

Cordial Pie Variations The Formula: cocktail; liquor (equal parts, ½ cup total, unless noted otherwise); crust; garnish 1. Brandy Alexander; Cognac, brown crème de cacao; graham cracker; chocolate curls 2. Chocolate mint; white crème de cacao, brown crème de cacao; chocolate cookie; chocolate curls 3. Grasshopper; white crème de menthe, green crème de menthe; chocolate cookie 4. Eggnog; rum; gingersnap; nutmeg 5. Banana mint; crème de banana, white crème de menthe; graham cracker 6. Pink squirrel; crème de almond, white crème de cacao; graham cracker 7. Brown velvet; triple sec, brown crème de cacao; chocolate cookie 8. Irish coffee; Irish whisky (use double strength coffee in place of water); graham cracker 9. Golden dream; Galliano, Cointreau (use 3/ 4 cup of orange juice in place of water, add 2 tablespoons grated orange peel); graham cracker; toasted coconut 10. Midnight cowboy; chocolate mint, brandy; chocolate cookie 11. Italian mousse; chocolate mint, vodka; chocolate cookie 12. Fifth Avenue; apricot brandy, brown crème de cacao; chocolate cookie 13. Raspberry Alexander; 3 ounces raspberry brandy, 1 ounce white crème de cacao; graham cracker 14. Blackberry Alexander; 3 ounces blackberry brandy, 1 ounce white crème de cacao; graham cracker 15. Banana chocolate cream; crème de banana, white crème de cacao; chocolate cookie 16. George Washington; chocolate mint, cherry brandy; chocolate cookie 17. Shady lady; coffee-flavored brandy, triple sec (use coffee in place of water); chocolate cookie 18. Cheri Suisse; cherry Suisse (cherry chocolate); chocolate cookie 19. Vandermint; Vandermint (chocolate mint); chocolate cookie 20. Sabra; Sabra (orange chocolate); chocolate cookie

Ratings

4 out of 5

147 user ratings

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Comments

Ron7 years ago

Some other recipes call for using another cup of heavy cream along with 1tsp sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla to make a whipped cream layer to put on top of the pie (and then garnish with the chocolate curls). This addition is much more effective in fighting carbohydrate and cholesterol deficiencies.

Elise6 years ago

A warning to my fellow cooks not to let the mixture gel too much in step 3, or the meringue and whipped cream won't blend in well and the custard will have the texture of tapioca.

mmarpet6 years ago

I first saw this recipe in 1970, made it, LOVED it, and lost the recipe. A few years back, thanks to the internet, I have it back. I've been making this again and again to take to parties and it has always been a hit. I have made it with graham cracker crust and Oreo-cookie crust. I give this recipe seven stars out of five.

Katy1 week ago

There was not a bridal shower in Atlanta in the 70s that didn’t serve this pie. Can’t wait to make it again.

susannah1 year ago

I made this Brandy Alexander with a chocolate wafer crust in a springform pan and it was a big success! A a hefty flavor, indeed! I am so happy to find this recipe here online because I had not seen this recipe in years - except for a vintage Junior League of Alabama Cookbook from my mother’s book shelf. Thank you NYT for adding this to the Christmas dessert recommendations!!

Lucas1 year ago

I'm a little confused with this recipe. What's the estimated chilling time for the booze egg yolk mixture? Assume it's only a few minutes if the whole recipe time is just 30 minutes. Also, the meringue is not cooked. It's just folded into cold ingredients. Isn't that risky food safety-wise?

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