My friend Kay Jowers is a southern-woman, born and raised in South Carolina. Her mom, Miss Perlie, is still an excellent cook, even in her 90s. Kay doesn’t always cook from scratch like her mom does, but she learned one important lesson from Miss Perlie: No matter what you’re making, and whether the ingredients are fresh or store-bought, make it a little better by adding something extra.
For example, one morning we went by her house for coffee with her and her husband Ronnie. She had made cinnamon rolls––using Pillsbury cinnamon rolls in a can. But, the last thing she added to them were fresh chopped pecans. They really were wonderful and I learned a lesson myself. You can always do a little something else to make food special. I was baking cookies, using cookie dough from the store. I sprinkled raw sugar on the top before cooking them, and it really made a difference. They were wonderful.
Probably Kay outdid herself when she put together a mud pie for dessert recently. She kept adding something extra to the pie, and when it was served, it was perfection. The fun of a mud pie is that it’s quick and easy to put together, it’s cold and perfect for summer entertaining, and the possibilities of what it can be are endless.
Here’s how Kay put together her masterpiece. It’s important to note that Kay knew when she put this together that the four of us who would be eating it are dark chocolate chocolate-holics. She knew her audience well!
Kay’s Dark Chocolate Mud Pie Perfection
Ingredients:
- Oreo pie crust (buy one or make one from scratch)
- Chocolate ice cream
- Coffee ice cream
- Dark chocolate mini chips
- Dark chocolate Oreos, crushed
- Dark chocolate syrup
- Caramel sauce
Directions
Step 1: To the Oreo crust, add a thin layer of chocolate ice cream. Sprinkle a handful of dark chocolate mini chips on top of the first layer.
Step 2: Add a thick layer of coffee ice cream next to fill up the pie pan. On top, sprinkle crushed Dark Chocolate Oreos and more dark chocolate mini chips.
Step 3: Put the mud pie in the freezer until time to serve. Then, take it out of the freezer and drizzle dark chocolate syrup and caramel sauce on top of the pie.
Step 4: Slice and serve.
You can adjust any of the ingredients for personal taste. You can also experiment with other combinations of flavors . . . such as replace the coffee ice cream with strawberry and add chocolate chips and fresh strawberries.
