Mud Pie

Happy 4th of July to all of you in the U.S. – I hope you all had a fun day!  We had a relaxing family day.  I grilled some chicken and made homemade baked beans.  Yum!

I have always loved ice cream desserts and this Mud Pie recipe is one of my favorites. I often requested it for my birthday when I was growing up. This year I decided to make it myself to celebrate my birthday last week. Does anyone else find joy in making your own birthday cake?

My Mom got this recipe from The Seattle Times in the late 1970′s.  I usually make it with vanilla ice cream, but use whatever flavor you like! Coffee ice cream would be especially good.

Mud Pie

Print Recipe

• 1½ cups chocolate cookie crumbs
• ½ cup unsalted butter, divided
• ½ gallon vanilla ice cream
• 3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup milk (I used 1%)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• whipped cream, optional

Preheat oven to 325°F.  Melt ¼ cup of the butter and mix into the cookie crumbs. Press mixture firmly and evenly into a 9- or 10-inch springform pan.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Cool completely.

Soften the ice cream and spoon it over the prepared crust, spreading it evenly.  Freeze until firm.

Melt the chocolate with the remaining ¼ cup butter.  Add the sugar and stir to mix.  Slowly stir in the milk and cook until the mixture boils.  Remove from the heat and add the vanilla and almond extracts.  Pour the chocolate mixture over the ice cream.  It’s OK if some of the ice cream melts into the chocolate.  Place in the freezer until the chocolate begins to firm up, 10 – 30 minutes.  Sprinkle the top of the pie with the walnuts.  Continue freezing until the chocolate is completely firm.

To serve, take the pie out of the freezer and let it rest at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes.  Remove the outer ring from the pan and cut into slices.  Serve with dollops of whipped cream, if desired.

Note:  I used a springform pan, but you can also use a 9″ pie dish or a 7 1/2″ x 12″ baking dish.

Serves 12