Carla Halls Mississippi Mud Pie Food

MISSISSIPPI MUD PIE

Steps:

• Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Pulse the graham crackers and pecans in a food processor until finely ground. Add the melted butter and process until moistened. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the chocolate crumb mixture for topping, then press the rest into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake until set, about 10 minutes; transfer to a rack and let cool.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Melt the butter and chocolate in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring. Remove from the heat, then stir in the flour and salt until smooth. Stir in the sugar, corn syrup, coffee liqueur and vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring until smooth. Pour the filling into the prepared crust and bake until set and cracked on top (like a brownie), about 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool slightly, about 2 hours (the pie should still be slightly warm).
• Make the whipped cream: Beat the heavy cream, confectioners' sugar and vanilla with a mixer until soft peaks form. Top the pie with the whipped cream, pecans and reserved chocolate crumb mixture. Drizzle with chocolate sauce.

CARLA'S CLASSIC PIE DOUGH

Steps:

• Dissolve the sugar and salt in 1/3 cup water and chill until cold.
• Pulse the flour and butter in a stand mixer until the mixture looks like coarse meal with some pea-size pieces. Add the water all at once and mix until the dough almost forms a ball. Divide the dough in half and flatten into two disks.
• Wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days. You can freeze the dough for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling.

MISSISSIPPI MUD PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F.
• Mix wafer crumbs, nuts and butter; press onto bottom and up side of 9-inch pie plate. Bake 10 min.; cool.
• Beat cream cheese and sugar in medium bowl with mixer until well blended. Gently stir in 1 cup COOL WHIP; spread onto bottom of crust. Beat pudding mix and milk with whisk 2 min.; spoon over cream cheese layer.
• Refrigerate several hours or until firm. Top with remaining COOL WHIP just before serving.

CARLA HALL'S MISSISSIPPI MUD PIE

Steps:

• For the Brownie Batter: Gently melt butter and chocolate together in a glass bowl in the microwave or over a pot of simmering water. In a separate bowl whisk together eggs, salt, sugars and vanilla.
• Stir egg mixture into chocolate mixture, and then add flour. Stir just until combined.
• For the Chocolate Pudding: Combine 3/4 cup granulated sugar, salt, cocoa powder and flour in a medium bowl. Slowly stir milk into dry mixture.
• Put mixture in medium sauce pot and cook until mixture begins to thicken.
• Beat egg yolks in a small bowl, then briskly stir a small amount of the hot mixture (about 1/2 cup) into this mixture. Add egg yolk mixture back into the hot mixture in top of double boiler and stir in butter and vanilla. Cook until mixture thickens again. Set aside.
• To Build Pie: Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, combine the crushed chocolate sandwich cookies with the butter until thoroughly mixed. Press into a lightly greased springform pan. Bake for 15 minutes to set the crust.
• Scrape brownie batter into the chocolate crust, forming an even layer. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out somewhat clean. Allow to cool slightly, and then pour pudding over the brownie layer, spreading into an even layer.
• Combine the heavy cream and vanilla and whip until peaks form, and use to top the chocolate pudding layer. Garnish with more crushed chocolate sandwich cookies.

CARLA HALL'S CRANBERRY APPLE PIE

Steps:

• For flaky pie crust(if using storebought crust, skip this):.
• Combine water, salt, and sugar in measuring cup. Stir and place cup in fridge for at least 15 min (to chill water and to dissolve sugar and salt). If possible, chill mixing bowl and paddle attachment if possible.
• Combine flour and butter pieces in mixing bowl. On medium speed with mixer, cut butter into flour until butter pieces are the size of small pebbles. With the mixer running, pour the water from previous step into the butter mixture. Mix until the dough comes together.
• Separate the dough into 2 disks. Wrap each with film and chill.
• Roll chilled pastry dish out to fit a 9-inch pie dish. Prick all over dough with a fork. Bake on 375 for 10-15 minutes, or until it is lightly golden. Set aside to cool.
• For Cranberry Apple Filling:.
• In a large bowl, combine apples and cranberries (frozen and dried) Stir in salt, sugars (brown and granulated), nutmeg, and cinnamon. Stir in the zest and juice of 1 lemon. If you don't like cranberries try dried cherries or raisins instead.
• In a small bowl, combine water, cornstarch, and vanilla. Quickly stir mixture into apples. Adjust seasoning if desired.
• Fill pie dish with apple filling.
• For Crumble Topping:
• Place all the topping ingredients into food processor and process until butter has been cut into the mixture. Carla tip: if you overmix your crumble just add extra nuts or oatmeal.
• Sprinkle topping over top of pie filling. Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes.
• Enjoy!

MISSISSIPPI MUD PIE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 325 degrees. In a food processor, grind the graham crackers to fine crumbs - you should have about 2 1/4 cups crumbs - and tip into a bowl. Add sugar, salt and butter, and toss until evenly moistened. Tip the crumb mixture into a 9-inch springform pan. Use your fingers to press the crumbs into a thin, even layer on the bottom of the pan and at least 2 1/4 inches up its sides. Bake the crust until just set, about 10 minutes. (The crust will continue to cook in the next step.) Increase heat to 350 degrees.
• Prepare the cake: In a bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water but not touching it, melt together the butter and chocolate. (Alternatively, do this in short bursts in the microwave but be careful not to scorch the chocolate.) Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk in the dark brown sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract and salt. Let cool slightly, then whisk in the 3 large egg yolks.
• In large bowl, beat the remaining 3 large egg whites with an electric mixer on medium until foamy, about 30 seconds. While mixing, gradually add the granulated sugar in a steady stream. Increase the mixer speed to high and continue to beat until you have stiff peaks, about 3 minutes. Using a large rubber spatula, fold the egg-white mixture evenly into the chocolate mixture. Sift the flour evenly over the chocolate mixture and fold it in. Transfer the batter to the prepared crust and smooth the top. Bake until a crust has formed over the top, the center is just set and a toothpick inserted 1 inch from the edges comes out with moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. The center of the cake, under the crust, should still be very moist and fudgy. (Peek under the crust if necessary.) Do not overbake. The cake will sink slightly as it cools. Let the cake cool completely, at least 90 minutes.
• Prepare the custard: Set the chocolate and butter in a medium bowl. Place a fine-mesh sieve over the bowl and set it aside. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, salt, cocoa powder, and cornstarch. Add the milk, little by little, while whisking to incorporate it fully. Whisk in the egg yolks. Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it has thickened and just come to a low boil. Continue to cook the custard, whisking, for another minute, then immediately pour it into the sieve, pushing it through with a small spatula. Let the custard stand for 1 minute, then whisk it together with the butter and chocolate until smooth. Pour the custard over the cooled cake. Cover the custard with plastic wrap or wax paper, making sure to press it gently into the surface of the custard. Chill until the custard has set completely, at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
• Just before serving, remove the ring from springform pan base and transfer pie to a serving plate. Whip the cream to soft peaks and spoon high dollops over the top of the pie, leaving about a 1-inch border. Dust with cocoa powder.