Mocha Mississippi Mud Pie
This Mocha Mississippi Mud Pie features a chocolate-pecan crust filled with a decadent mocha chocolate pudding. Add some whipped cream, and you’ve got the perfect summer dessert!
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Have you guys ever thought about how recipes get their names? As a former Latin teacher, I’ve always appreciated etymology and how words come to mean different things over time. For instance, ‘biscuit’ comes from the Latin words bis (twice) and coquere (to cook). (The Romans used to bake their biscuits twice to help them last longer.) But then you have other phrases like ‘French fries’ which are not actually French at all. (French fries were developed in Belgium.)
Mocha Mississippi Mud Pie
Mocha Mississippi Mud PieToday’s post totally falls into that latter category. There are no ancient word origins for Mocha Mississippi Mud Pie. Nope, instead this delicious pie supposedly gets its name because it resembles the Mississippi River. But here’s the thing: the banks of the Mississippi River do not look tasty. I lived several miles from the mighty Mississippi when I was in Baton Rouge. Then a couple of years later, my wife and I sat on the banks of the Mississippi in New Orleans eating muffaletta sandwiches. The Mississippi River is a lot of things, but delicious is not one of them. Someone did a great injustice to the Mississippi Mud Pie when they named it after the mud at the bottom of a river. C’mon, people!
So here’s the thing about Mississippi Mud Pie. It can be made in a lot of ways. There’s no one set standard for it. But all versions involve chocolate. And nuts often make an appearance in there, too. I decided to add some coffee into this version as coffee and chocolate is one of my favorite combinations. This Mocha Mississippi Mud Pie is essentially an incredibly tasty pudding pie. It’s perfect for summer picnics because it’s served chilled. (And since the pie is made in advance, it scores another point for being an easy picnic dessert!)
To really boost the flavor in the crust, I added in some finely ground pecans along with the Oreos. The crust is baked blind (i.e. with no filling) and then you just spread in the mocha-chocolate pudding filling. Top that bad boy off with some fresh whipped cream right before serving, and you’ve got one delicious pie. The hardest part is waiting for the pie to chill. I had to tap deep into my inner self-control to let this Mocha Mississippi Mud Pie hang out in the fridge for several hours. (Of course, I may or may not have licked all of the chocolate filling off of the spatula while I waited.)
For the chocolate-pecan crust, I used one of Fat Daddio’s 9″ commercial pie pans. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a big fan of Fat Daddio’s bakeware, and this pie pan is a solid addition to my (ever-growing) inventory of bakeware. The anodized aluminum surface means that the pan will never rust, peel or chip…and it also means that the pan will heat up and cool down quicker. As you pie bakers out there know, this quick heating and cooling will yield tastier traditional pie crusts. (Although I must admit that the pecan-chocolate crust on this Mocha Mississippi Mud Pie will give any pie crust a run for its money!)
As we kick off another long, warm summer, here’s to many fun backyard picnics and barbecues with friends! And if you want to make some new friends, then just show up with a Mocha Mississippi Mud Pie. (Just don’t tell them that it derives it’s name from the muddy banks of the Mississippi River.)
Did you make this Mocha Mississippi Mud Pie at home? Leave a comment. Or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog)!
Looking for other tasty summer dessert recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
Blueberry Streusel Cake
S’mores Brownies
Mocha Ice Cream Brownie Sandwich
No Bake Butterfinger Pie
Lemon Meringue Bars
Mocha Mississippi Mud Pie
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 18 Oreo cookies separated and filling removed
- ¼ cup pecans chopped
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted
For the Chocolate Filling
- ½ cup sugar
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3½ Tbsp cornstarch
- ¼ tsp salt
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 1/3 cups whole milk
- 1/3 cup coffee brewed
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 oz, semisweet chocolate chopped
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
For the Whipped Cream Topping
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- 1½ Tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For Garnish
- 1/3 cup pecans chopped
- chocolate sauce optional garnish
Instructions
For the Crust
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Place the Oreo cookies, pecans and sugar in a food processor or mini-chopper. Pulse until finely ground. Transfer mixture into a large bowl.
- Remove 3 Tbsp of mixture and set aside to use as topping later.
- Stir the melted butter into the remaining mixture and then press into bottom and sides of 9” pie pan.
- Bake crust for 10 minutes.
- Remove pan from oven and set aside to cool.
For the Chocolate Filling
- Using a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch and salt until well combined.
- Add egg yolks, milk and coffee; whisk together until well combined.
- Place over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture begins to boil. Let boil for 30 seconds and then remove from heat. (Note: This mixture will thicken noticeably and become somewhat more difficult to stir near the end. Continue stirring to prevent it from burning, though!)
- Add butter, chocolate and vanilla; whisk together until chocolate and butter have melted and mixture is well combined.
- Spread Chocolate Filling into baked pie crust. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight.
For the Whipped Cream Topping
- Using a countertop mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla together until soft peaks form.
To Assemble
- Spread the Whipped Cream Topping evenly over the cooled Chocolate Filling.
- Spread the chopped pecans (for the garnish) onto a small baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 5-6 minutes.
- Sprinkle the chopped pecans and 3 Tbsp of reserved crumbled crust mixture over the top of the pie. Drizzle with chocolate sauce before serving (optional).
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Fat Daddio’s.
The opinions and recipe are all my own.
Hahaha – I couldn’t agree more with ya – the banks of the Mississippi River or any river for that matter – don’t look appetizing at all! But as for this – duuuuude – have mercy! This is just eyeball popping, screen licking, good! I must say, that crust with pecans mixed in is incredibly intriguing. I love my desserts and you have incredible self control indeed to wait 4+ hours to dig into this!
Happy Tuesday, David – hope your week is off to a GREAT start!
Hahaha…screen lickin’ good! I like that, Shashi. 🙂 And I’d much rather lick this pie than the banks of a muddy river. My week is indeed off to an awesome start because we are off visiting friends still from the long weekend. But the vacation ends today…so I might need a slice of this pie to help me get back to work tomorrow morning!
This looks delicious! When I was little I’d go to TGIFriday’s and get the Dirt Cup for dessert on my birthday almost every year– how was that appetizing? ANyways, this looks so amazing and love the pecans you stuck in the crust. Thanks for the pan rec, too! 🙂
Haha…what is it about dirt cups that is so darn fun?? My wife made them for us probably about a year ago now, and they were hilarious…and also still quite tasty. I guess we could call this pie a grown-up version of a dirt cup, huh? 🙂
Well that’s just a darn shame that such a delicious and beautiful pie is named after a muddy river. I also had no idea that you used to be a Latin teacher – so wow to that! Even though the Mississippi isn’t all that appetizing, I think it’s cool that y’all sat on the bank and ate muffalettas! Too bad you didn’t have this pie with you too! I’m loving all the pecan action you have going on in here! And make ahead is a win in my book!
Pecans make everything better! It’s been several years since we sat there on the banks of the Mississippi eating muffalettas…I’d love to go back! But for now, I’ll just sit next to this pie and pretend it’s the banks of the Mississippi. That totally counts, right? 🙂
Man, every time you mention you were a Latin teacher I get scared. I sucked sooooo bad at Latin, I don’t think I ever got an A…
I’m not a big fan of mud pies but yours sure looks delicious. With all those pecans I could never say no!
#GrexLuporum
I’m clearly going to have to start having Latin lessons for the Wolfpack. I’ll have you conjugating verbs and declining nouns in no time, Alpha!
This mocha pie looks SO good! Love mud pie – definitely need to try this out soon! 😀
Thank you so much, Jess! The coffee addition is really pretty quite tasty. 🙂
Thank you for clarfying that is more pudding than a cake….When I first sampled it a few years back, I made a mess with the fork thinking it was some dense cake! I’m glad it’s namely origins does not correlate with the actual pie- I wouldn’t fancy eating that. This looks amazing mate- The kind of pie you’d overeat because it’s like a mousse like pudding!
You are totally right, Arman! There is nothing cake-related here. It’s all about a chilled pie that is perfect for summer days. Of course, chocolate makes everything better, too!
That pie is making my mouth drool! So much amazing layers of chocolate, mocha, whipped cream, and other deliciousness!! Pinned! 🙂
Thank you so much, Christina! I have to admit that this pie didn’t last very long around our house. But that just means I need to make another one now, right??
wow I didn’t know you were a teacher, that’s so cool!! The mud pie looks amazing, look at all the things in there! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!
I did indeed teach Latin for a while, Manali! I actually loved it, but I’m also glad I stumbled into the world of food blogging. The only problem is waiting long enough to take pictures after I make desserts now…haha!
Don’t be embarrassed about the fact of licking some filling from the spatula, David! Indeed, it’s the quintessential step in any baking. You’ve got to guarantee the quality of your cake, right? So that’s the only one way to determine is it good enough to be served. If not, you have to be suffering by eating all the cake on you own since you can’t serve something imperfect! Love you historical and linguistical excurse – this always saunds fascinating to me! The only thing that fascinates me more is this amazing pie. You just put in it everything I love! Great job!
I couldn’t agree more, Ben! I had to lick the spatula to make sure this pie was good. It’s kinda the advantage that comes with being the baker. I mean I have to do all the dishes, so why not just “prewash” them a little bit first? 🙂
That’s why I’ve never served any layer cake yet haha:)
David, how else would you be able to do proper quality control? This is one decadent pie, just perfect for summer entertaining 🙂
Well, of course, Judit! I mean, we have to make sure the pie is good enough for company, right? 🙂
Hi David! Not having recovered from the holiday weekend feasts I was not hungry at all UNTIL I saw this! Oh my, pie! Now I have to buy Oreo cookies and more whipping cream… 🙂
I know! The weekend feast was indeed amazing, Dorothy. Why can’t we have 3-day weekends every weekend?? But now that summer has unofficially kicked off, we need delicious treats…and mud pies certainly fall into that category. I hope you had an awesome holiday weekend down there in TN!
David, this mocha Mississippi mud pie is calling my name!!! love!!!! and I had never even heard of Fat Daddio’s bakeware until recently. . but I hear it’s pretty darn good!!!
Yes! Fat Daddio’s is really awesome bakeware. I totally recommend grabbing some! I also recommend grabbing a slice of pie…because everything is better with pie, right?
Haha, food origins have always baffled me, and you’re totally right about the banks of the Mississippi…not appetizing! When folks say “everything but the kitchen sink cookies,” I’m just like UH. That could be so many things that I don’t even want to think about…but that being said, this pie looks phenomenal. Whoo! Bookmarking this!
Haha…I’ve never thought about the kitchen sink cookie, Ala. But you are totally right! That doesn’t sound appetizing at all. “You mean you put dirty dishes into this cookie? Awesome.” Hah! This pie is super awesome for warm summer days, though! 🙂
Do you mind if I take the whole pie for myself? No? K, thx! 🙂 Also, cool thing that you used to be a Latin teacher. My first language is Portuguese!
Portuguese! That is so awesome, Olivia! I’ve always wanted to learn a more modern language, but for now it’s Latin. Maybe we can trade Portuguese lessons for pie? Haha! 🙂
I would definitely trade Portuguese lessons for this yummy pie! lol
Oh my. That chocolate pecan crust!
Mississippi mud pie isn’t really a big things over here, but I have no idea why. Look how amazing it is!
Yeah, I don’t know if Thames Mud Pie would take off over there…but I totally think you should try to start that trend! 🙂
David, this pie looks so delicious! I have only tried mud-pie once in my life and loved the taste. But never ever dared to make one at home 🙂 Looking at your recipe, now I think, I will, soon!! thanks for sharing!
Oh you totally need to give it a shot at home, Savita! Mud pies are really not that difficult at all…and they are the perfect treat for warm summer days. Thank you so much for commenting! 🙂
If I were an ant… I would totally jump head first into that… Sure I would die, but it would be the BEST WAY TO GO… EVER!!
Hahaha…GiGi, you crack me up! I mean who thinks about being an ant and jumping head first into a pie?? But you are totally right…this would be the way to go! 🙂
Hahaha is it bad that I never think about the origins of a word? I’m more concerned with… is it tasty? And I would love to answer that question for you. So how about you take a slice of this legit pie and mail it my way? #please
Haha..sure thing, man! I’ll stuff a slice of this pie in an envelope and send it your direction. Let me know when it arrives. 🙂
Holy Mexican Chocolate, you had me at chocolate pecan crust! This looks incredibly decadent and I’d take two slices. 🙂
Oh man, if I still had 2 slices of this pie, I would totally send ’em to you, Kevin. But they are long gone. Maybe I’ll just have to make another one now! 🙂
I love the interesting facts you share in your posts! I never knew the origins of the word “biscuit.” 🙂
Surprisingly, I have never had Mississippi Mud Pie before. I think it’s because I’m not really a chocoholic. I like chocolate, but I am by no means an addict. However, I will make an exception with this pie if you freeze it and ship it to me. Just a thought. LOL!
You’re the only one who commented on my little biscuit fact, Tamara! But then again, I would expect nothing less from a fellow southern baker! 🙂 If you will make an exception for this pie, then I’ll shove a slice in an envelope…just for you! Haha!