As the weather starts heating up, it gets harder and harder to justify turning on the oven and heating the whole house up!
Now, of course, I'll still do it because delicious desserts are worth a few hours of extra heat. But wouldn't it be nice to have other options, too?!
Enter my No-Bake Chocolate Mousse Pie! This perfect pie literally covers all the bases. You want something sweet? Check! Something a little salty? Check! Something smooth and creamy? Check!
This pie has two "secrets," which makes this pie even better!
First secret: instead of just using graham crackers in the crust, I added some pretzels! These help with the crunch like the graham cracker does but also provides a beautiful saltiness that helps cut down on all the sweetness from the rest of the pie.
What's that? You already guessed that from the title?! Fair point.
My next secret though is even better! Most of the ingredients in this pie are store-bought! What?!
I know, I know, it's wild! In fact, you could do one better and even buy store-bought crust, but I wanted to make my crust extra fancy, so I made that one!
Using store-bought shortcuts like the pudding packets and frozen cool whip save a ton of time! You could even buy another container of frozen cool whip to put on the top and that would cut down even more time!
I love desserts like this one that comes together so fast and super easy so you really don't have to stress over it! No one likes to worry about their pie crust falling in the oven or if your cake doesn't rise. This is an easy solution to dessert and I promise you, no one would be disappointed at all!
Warning! This pie does need to chill! I suggest overnight, but AT LEAST 2 hours in the fridge to set up! So make sure you plan for that when making this pie!
Ingredients:
Crust:
8 graham crackers
⅔ cup of pretzels
6 tablespoons of butter melted
⅓ cup of brown sugar
Filling:
1 box of pudding (5.9 ounces)
2 and ½ cups of heavy cream
1 container (8 ounces) of cool whip
Topping:
1 cup of heavy cream
⅓ cup of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 bar of chocolate, for garnish
To make the crust, add graham crackers, pretzels, and brown sugar to a food processor.
Pulse until everything is mixed together and fine crumbs.
Then pour in the melted butter. Pulse to combine. It should resemble wet sand, so when you grab some in your hand and squeeze it, it should hold its shape.
Then pour into your pie pan. Take the back of a measuring cup and use that to make sure the crust is really packed into the bottom and along the sides.
Place the crust into the fridge while you make the filling.
To make the filling, add the pudding packet and the heavy cream to the bowl of a stand mixer. Begin to whip the mixture on a medium speed until it becomes thick and fluffy, about 5 minutes or so.
Take the bowl of the pudding mixture and slowly begin to fold in the whole container of cool whip. I suggest starting with half first so you can incorporate it easier! Don't worry if everything isn't fully mixed together, I like to see the swirls of chocolate pudding with the cool whip!
Pour the pudding mixture into the crust and smooth out the top, then place the pie back into the fridge.
Make the whipped cream topping, by adding heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium-high until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes.
Take the whipped cream and dollop it on top of the pudding mixture. I like to leave about a ½ an inch of the pudding showing around the edge of the pie. Then I take a chocolate bar and use a vegetable peeler to add some shavings to the top of the pie.
Gently cover the pie with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, but at least two hours.
No one would believe you if you told them that most of the ingredients for this pie came from the store! That's how rich and decadent this pie is! The crust is crunchy and just a little bit salty from the pretzels which pairs so beautifully with the smooth, creamy, sweet pudding middle topped off with the light, airy whipped cream!? Need I say more?!
-Holly Michelle
Leave a Reply