Introduction: Mud Pie

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Mississippi mud pie is one of my favorite desserts. I've taken the traditional version and classed it up a tiny bit and also reduced the sweetness just a tad, because while mud pie is delicious, it is sweet beyond compare. :D My love of mud pie originally comes from my stepmother - she makes an amazing one that my siblings and I all go nuts over during the holidays!

This Mississippi mud pie is a great dessert for a BBQ or other potluck style events, because you can assemble it ahead of time and keep it chilled until you're ready to eat it!

Step 1: What You'll Need:

For the crust:

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts (chop them and then measure one cup's worth)
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup melted butter

For the filling:

  • 2 3.9 oz boxes chocolate pudding mix
  • 3 cups cold milk
  • 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
  • 16 oz Cool Whip (won't use all of it, but it's better to have more than you need!)
  • powdered sugar to sweeten cream cheese (if needed)
  • + extra cool whip and pecans/walnuts for topping

You'll also need some parchment paper and a 9x13 baking dish.

I prefer pecans in mine, but walnuts work too! It'll just be a slightly less sweet crust. As for the pudding mix, chocolate fudge flavor is my favorite. You'll use less milk than the pudding actually calls for to make it thicker. :)

Step 2: Assemble the Crust + Line the Pan

Melt the butter and mix in the pecans/walnuts, sugar, and flour. Stir this all together until it's nice and crumbly - it should be like wet sand and hold together when you press it in your palm. :)

Line a baking pan with parchment paper and dump in the crust. Press it down into the pan so it's nice and even.

Step 3: Bake the Crust

Bake the crust for 25-30 minutes at 350 F or until it's nice and golden brown. Pull it out and let it cool down - you can pop it in the freezer to speed it up!

Step 4: Make the Fillings

For the chocolate layer, whisk together 3 cups cold milk and the two boxes of pudding mix. This will come together super fast.

For the cream cheese layer, mix a softened 8 oz block of cream cheese with 8-10 oz of Cool Whip. You can add more Cool Whip or a little powdered sugar to sweeten this mixture up if you want. You make sure to save a tiny amount of Cool Whip for the very top layer. :D

Step 5: Layer It and Chill!

Make sure your crust has cooled down before you attempt layering, otherwise things will get runny.

Smooth on a thin thin layer of the cream cheese/Cool Whip mix first, and then add all the chocolate pudding filling on top. After that, add in the rest of the cream cheese/Cool Whip mix and top with a thin layer of Cool Whip.

Chop more nuts and sprinkle them over the top.

Let this chill in the fridge/freezer for at least an hour or until you can lift the parchment without it looking too bendy. :)

Step 6: Serve!

Once it's nice and cooled, you should be able to remove the whole pie by lifting it with the parchment. This makes it so much easier to cut it into pieces and serve it up. :D

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