Mississippi Mud Pie

Our family had lots of fun on New Year's Eve. Nate made potato soup for dinner. Jenny made delicious artichoke and clam chip dips. I made a chocolate pie. It has a rich chocolate filling and a crumbly chocolate crust, topped with whipped cream and chocolate curls. I had extra dough and filling, so I let Kamri make her own little pie. She is quite the cook as she helped me crack the eggs and was my taste-tester.  :-)


Mississippi Mud Pie
For the pie dough:
scant  1 5/8 c. all-purpose flour
2 T. unsweetened cocoa
1/2 c. + 2 T. butter (cold and sliced)
2 T. sugar
1-2 T. cold water
For the filling:
3/4 c. butter, softened
scant 1 3/4 c. packed brown sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
4 T. unsweetened cocoa
5 1/2 oz semisweet chocolate
1 1/4 c. heavy cream
1 t. chocolate extract (optional)
To garnish:
scant 2 c. heavy cream, whipped with a touch of vanilla and powdered sugar
chocolate flakes and curls
*To make the pie dough, sift the flour and cocoa into a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and enough cold water to mix to a soft dough. Wrap the dough and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured counter and use to line a 9-inch loose bottom tart pan or ceramic pie dish. line with parchment paper and fill with dried beans. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and take out the paper and beans. Let cool. To make the filling, beat the butter and sugar in a bowl and gradually beat in the eggs with the cocoa. Melt the chocolate and beat it into the mixture with the cream and chocolate extract. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Pour the mixture into the pastry shell and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the filling has set. Let the mud pie cool completely. Cover with the whipped cream. Garnish the pie with chocolate flakes and curls and then let chill until ready to serve.