Mounds Pie-For Cheaters

I'm about to ruin what ever 'food blog cred' I have.  I made an easy pie using boxed pudding mix and cool-whip.  No fresh whipped cream from grain eating cows.  No lovingly whisking together a pudding from scratch.  Here's the thing, I'm not really a 'foodie'.  I enjoy cooking and eating, and sometimes that includes partaking of processed foods.  I read some wonderful blogs about eating organically and eliminating processed foods and those are some dedicated people.  I've been learning to make more things from scratch and I love to bake fresh bread and cook a batch of pancakes without Aunt Jemima's help.  But, sometimes you need a quick dessert or a 15 minute dinner and the help that boxes, cans, and bags can provide is invaluable.  For this dessert, I did make my own graham cracker crust (just because I love a thick, crunchy crust), but feel free to use a pre-made version or, even better, maybe, an Oreo crust.  The trick here is to allow the hot pudding to melt the chocolate, so you don't want to use instant pudding, you definitely want the cook and serve.  (See, it is practically homemade!)  What results is a creamy, rich, chocolaty, coco-nutty dessert.

It was born out of a "what's in the pantry" moment, so I didn't have toasted coconut or chopped mounds bars to top it off, but I'd highly recommend either one.

Mounds Pie

Graham Cracker Crust (recipe below)

1 box cook & serve coconut pudding

1 1/2 Cups milk

1 8oz Cool-Whip (thawed & divided)

1 Cup Milk Chocolate Chips 

Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler or in the microwave.  Allow to cool to room temperature and combine with one cup of the cool-whip.  (The chocolate will seize a little if your Cool-Whip is cold-that's okay).  Spread on crust (it's okay if the crust is warm).  Combine pudding mix and milk in a saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat while stirring.  Gently pour the pudding into the crust.  Refridgerate at least 3 hours until set.  Top with remaining Cool-Whip and toasted coconut or chopped Mounds candy bars.  

Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/2 Cups fine graham cracker crumbs

2 Tbl. sugar

6 Tbl. melted salted butter

Preheat oven to 375°.  Combine ingredients and press into a pie pan (8 in for thick crust, 9 in for thick crust).  Bake 10-15 minutes until edges just begin to brown.