March 11, 2011

Muddy Day Pie

It's been really muddy around here.

A series of downpours has waterlogged quite a few folks.

Fields are flooded. Roads have been closed due to high water. Animals slop around in muddy pastures. And everything is covered in mud.

Just doing everyday chores is a mess. My shoes sink into the ground and get caked with heavy clods of wet mud. Clumps of mud splash up on my pants and my coat. And dogs track it into the house.

I see mud everywhere. Even in my dreams.

And on my plate.

Yes, I have seen so much mud that I just couldn't help myself, I just had to make a mud pie!I made a graham cracker crust for this pie. It was tasty. And really super easy.

This rich tasting pie would definitely be nice with a pastry crust (my pie crust recipe can be found here). But this graham cracker crust was a snap to make. And making it only dirtied one dish (the little pan I used to melt the butter). Having only one dish to wash seemed like a pretty big deal to me after cleaning up ten million muddy dog footprints. A pretty pie crust and just one little dirty dish? Yes, please!

This pie is a rich mocha filling poured over crunchy toasted walnuts that bakes into a delicious brownie like goodness. I used mostly English walnuts, adding just a few black walnuts. To be completely honest, I was just too lazy to shell out a whole cup of black walnuts. Luckily, I think my laziness turned out to be a good thing. Adding a few black walnuts added a nice earthiness to the flavor of the pie, but I think using only black walnuts would have been too strong, and may have drowned out how well the chocolate and coffee blended together.

Speaking of chocolate and coffee... I ate a piece of this pie with my coffee this morning... ohmygosh!!!MUDDY DAY PIE

For the crust:
9 graham crackers
2 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons melted butter

For the pie:
1 cup chopped walnuts (toast them first for a few minutes on the stove to really bring out their flavor)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup corn syrup (light or dark)
2 tablespoons instant coffee
2 tablespoons coffee liqueur
3 eggs

Melt 6 tablespoons of butter and then let butter cool to slightly warm. Place graham crackers in a resealable plastic bag and use rolling pin to crush crackers into crumbs. Add sugar. Shake bag to blend sugar and crumbs. Then pour melted (and slightly cooled) butter into bag and squeeze bag all over to blend all ingredients. Pour crumb mixture into a 9 inch deep dish pie plate. Press crumbs to bottom and sides of pie plate to form crust. Spread 1 cup of chopped walnuts over crust. Set aside.

Gently heat 1 cup chocolate chips, 1/2 cup butter, and 1/4 cup corn syrup. Stir together well and set aside until slightly cool. When cooled to just warm, add 2 tablespoons of instant coffee, 2 tablespoons of coffee liqueur and 3 eggs. Beat well. Pour over walnuts in graham cracker crust.

Cook for 45 minutes in 350 degree oven. Let cool completely before slicing.

8 comments:

MARARIA said...

OH Homegrown CG I´m so sorry about the mud around you,and the heavy rains,! I love that mud pie, it looks delicious as everything you cook! (despite the horrible mud outside)

Smalltowngirl said...

Yummy! Everything about that is a winner : )


Sorry to hear you guys are water logged!
Sure wish we could get some of it...hasn't rained here since last Sept!! We so desperately need some soon!

sheila @ Elements said...

That looks totally amazing and the coffee liqueur in it is the proverbial icing on the cake. Yummm!!! :)

Anonymous said...

YUM YUM

homegrown countrygirl said...

Thank you, everyone, for your nice comments!!!

As images of the horrors in Japan flash across my tv screen, I am reminded how lucky I am. Here I was, complaining about a little bit of mud? While eating a tasty piece of pie?

It reminds me to be thankful for each moment, mud or no mud. I pray for the people who are suffering and for those who have lost loved ones in that disaster. And I am keeping them in my heart.

Candy C. said...

I was just trying to think of something to bake and I know my husband will be sooo happy when I make this pie for him while he is gone today! ;-)

Candy C. said...

I wanted to check back in and let you know that the pie was a HUGE hit! Yum, yummy, yum!! I took a piece to my girlfriend too and she said to tell you "Thanks!" :)

homegrown countrygirl said...

Candy C ~ I'm so glad that the pie was a hit! It's one of my own personal favorites... born from a lucky experiment that one muddy day, it's now something I make over and over again!