Kansas City Mud Pie - Week 33

Layers of pecans, cream cheese, chocolate pudding, and whipped cream will make this an unforgettable mud pie!

I remember my childhood days when we would find some bare dirt and add a garden hose to get some nice soupy mud to bake an assortment of mud pies. We would use a variety of treasures (stones, sticks, grass clippings, dandelions, etc) to garnish them so we could could make a collection to serve in our restaurant. Those memories are still fresh even after 30+ years old.

Dirt, marvellous dirt from Roasted Peanuts.

Apparently, Charles Schulz must have thought a lot of the skill of mud-pie bakers because it was the topic of many of his cartoon strip in the 50's. Many of the strips are featured on the http://peanutsroasted.blogspot.com/. What a walk down memory lane! I loved Peanuts as a girl and remember reading through the large comic strip books that the library had...and I'll never forget how much I always looked forward to watching the Peanuts holiday tv specials.

Anyways, this pie can help fulfill your childhood dreams of being able to eat your own mud-pies and having your family love your special mud-pie! 

Ingredients:

1-1/4 c. finely chopped pecans

¾ c. flour

¼ c. butter, melted

½ t. salt

2 - 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened

1-1/2 c. powdered sugar, sifted

8 oz Cool Whip, thawed & divided

2-2/3 c. milk

2 – 3.9 oz pkg chocolate instant pudding

Directions:

Mix nuts, flour and butter. Press into a 9” springform pan. 

Bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees. Cool.

Beat cream cheese and sugar with mixer until well blended. 

Gently stir in 1-1/2 cups cool whip; spread over crust.

Beat milk and dry pudding mixes with whisk 2 minutes. Spoon over cream cheese layer.

Refrigerate several hours or until set. 

Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen desert; remove rim. 

Top pie with remaining cool whip just before serving.

This pie is also known as "Better Than Robert Redford".

What are some of your favorite childhood memories?

Hope you can enjoy your mud pie while reminiscing about your days of youth.