I’m not sure if this pie has an official name or not, so I just decided to put Chocolate Mint Pudding Pie in the title. I’ve just always called it a chocolate mint pie, and I’ve demanded requested it every year, usually for Thanksgiving, for a very long time. Last year, my mom made it with sugar free ingredients, and I whined, so I decided to make it myself this year. Well, apparently, signals got crossed so this year we ended up with two chocolate mint pies. Trust me, this is NOT a problem! We usually have it at Thanksgiving every year, but it would fit in with your upcoming holiday gatherings just as well.

It’s beyond simple to make, and still delicious. You’ll see. Here’s what you’ll need:

Ready Made Chocolate Pie Crust, Milk, Chocolate Pudding Mix, Cool Whip, Mint Extract, Green Food Coloring (optional)

First up, prepare your crust.

Oh wait, in this pie, that just means taking the lid off of your crust. Woohoo! I like it already.

Next you need to make your pudding, according to the package directions for pie filling. Unlike my previous experience with cook and serve pudding, it does not matter if you choose cook and serve or instant pudding for this pie. The only important thing is that you follow the package directions for PIE FILLING, not for pudding. Let me say that again, follow the package directions for pie filling! okay, ready to move on??

I had instant pudding, so I poured the packet of pudding mix into a bowl.

My package called for 1 3/4 cups of milk. Check your package directions, they might call for a different amount.

Pour the milk in with your pudding mix. Admire the bubbles it makes.

Whisk together. Note to self: Buy new whisk… this one was only $1, and for very good reason. It’s nearly impossible to use properly.

Pour into your “prepared” pie crust.

Make sure it’s distributed evenly, and refrigerate at least one hour or until set. Or you can do it the way I did, and put it in the fridge while you go take a nap. Just keeping it real.

When your pie filling has set, or when you get up from your nap, take the cool whip out of the fridge.

Add your mint extract… how much depends on how minty you like it, and whether you’ve got imitation or real mint extract, or maybe you’ve got peppermint extract. Some are stronger than others. So start with a little… you can always add more, but if you’ve made it too strong, you can’t take the mint back out.

Before you stir, add a few drops of food coloring. Now the food coloring is entirely optional, but it will help you know if you’ve got your mint extract thoroughly mixed into your cool whip. And don’t feel married to the green color. The first time I made these pies, I was left to my own devices in the kitchen, and we took blue mint chocolate pies to Thanksgiving. But don’t listen to me, everyone thought it was weird.

Mix it well, and give it a taste. YES! You have permission to stick your finger in the cool whip and taste it. In fact, it is REQUIRED. Add more mint extract if it’s needed, or more food coloring if you’re not satisfied with the color. When you’re happy with the color and the flavor…

Get your set pudding pie out of the refrigerator,

and spread your mint green cool whip on top. And that’s it! Hopefully you’ve saved the lid from the pie crust, so you can put that on top of your pie, and you’re ready to take it to your holiday gathering. Or to just grab a fork, whichever floats your boat! I didn’t get a picture of a slice of the pie because I didn’t take a camera to the family gathering with me. Besides, I’m not capable of removing a slice of pie from the pan, so you would’ve just gotten a picture of chocolate and mint goop on my plate!

See, it’s easy as pie! HAHA, I crack myself up. Seriously though, it couldn’t be easier to make and it is quite good!

I found the recipe in a small brochure from Kraft Foods that came along with one of my Taste of Home magazine subscriptions. As you may recall, I attempted to make this pie once before, with disastrous results. I went back and got more ingredients (the proper ones this time), and just before Christmas, it was time to try again.

I was so focused on getting everything right that I don’t have all the step by step pictures that I’d like to have, so I’ll share what I’ve got! First you’ll need to get all the ingredients together.

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. caramel ice cream topping, divided
1 graham cracker pie crust
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. pecan pieces, divided
1 cup cold milk
2 pkg. (4-serving size each) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

Now, if you’re like me, you’re going to skip the nutmeg and use just the cinnamon so you can go ahead and cross that off. (Thanks mom!) At this point, I’d like to remind you to check and make sure your pudding is INSTANT and not cook and serve. Cook and serve simply will not work. Trust me, I know.
First, take your pie crust, and pour in 1/4 cup of the caramel topping. Make sure your caramel spreads out in the bottom of the crust. Then you want to sprinkle 1/2 cup of pecan pieces onto the caramel.

Set that aside for a minute, and mix together your pie filling. Take the milk, pudding, pumpkin, cinnamon, and 1 1/2 cups of the whipped topping and mix it all together. When all the ingredients are well mixed and incorporated, you’re ready to spoon it into your prepared pie crust.

If you’re like me, you’ll play with smoothing the top for awhile…

You can see some of the caramel peeking out the sides of the pie… this may be due to the fact that I accidentally used 1/3 cup of caramel in the bottom instead of 1/4. Come on, after how badly I botched the first one, did you really think the second would go off without a hitch?

Anyways. Then your pie needs to set in the fridge for about an hour. When it’s ready, bring it out and spread the rest of your cool whip on top of the pie filling. Feel free to play with the design on the cool whip as well.

Finally, use a fork (or a spoon, or your fingers) to drizzle caramel topping over the top of your pie. Sprinkle with pecans, and admire. And get made fun of by your mother for your precise placement of pecans for picture taking purposes.

And enjoy!!

It was a very good pie, and everyone enjoyed it, but it was almost TOO rich. I don’t think anyone finished their piece of pie. I don’t know how much of this can be contributed to the richness of the pie, and how much should be contributed to the fact that we’d just finished stuffing ourselves with beef and noodles and mashed potatoes and scalloped corn and my favorite salad, and various other deliciousness.