At one time or another, nearly everybody has made mud pies.
The primary ingredients-dirt and water-are readily available and the mixture feels nice and cool when you squish it through your fingers, particularly on hot summer days.
But when it comes time to taste such a creation, it`s hard to find any takers.
That didn`t stop Jan Payne from serving dirt cake at her daughter`s wedding rehearsal dinner, though.
”It`s so cute,” said Payne, who lives in Birmingham, Ala. ”This was a very informal dinner. We had pizza and beer, and the dirt cake was just perfect. Everybody loved it.”
Of course, Payne did not use real dirt. She used a recipe that called for Oreo cookies and whipped cream and she served it with a garden trowel.
Dirt cake, Mississippi mud, mud pie and sand tarts are among a handful of dishes with names that sound more at home in the sandbox than in the kitchen. Gritty-sounding names aren`t limited to the dessert category-dirty rice (rice with chicken giblets or other innards) has been a down-home favorite for generations.
”Dirt cake makes a great centerpiece,” Payne said. ”You put it together in a flowerpot and with all the Oreos in it, it really looks like dirt. ”Then you decorate it with silk flowers and serve it with a garden trowel. People won`t believe it tastes good until they try it, and then they love it.
”It`s sinfully, richly delicious with all the cookies and cream cheese and whipped cream in it.”
Add a touch of whimsy to your next party or family get-together with a dirt cake or maybe a pan of Mississippi mud.
DIRT CAKE
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Chilling time: Overnight
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
1 package (1 pound) Oreo cookies
1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners` sugar
3 1/2 cups milk
2 packages (3 ounces each) instant French vanilla pudding
1 container (12 ounces) frozen whipped topping, softened
Silk flowers or plastic plant, for decoration
1. Crush cookies in a blender or food processor. Set aside. Cream together butter, cream cheese and confectioners` sugar. Mix together milk, vanilla pudding and whipped topping. Blend together creamed mixture and pudding mixture.
2. Place lid from whipped topping tub in the bottom of a clean 8-inch plastic flowerpot to prevent leaks. Place a layer of crushed cookies in flowerpot and top with a layer of pudding mixture. Repeat layers and top with a final layer of cookies. Refrigerate overnight. Decorate with silk flowers or plastic plant and serve.
MISSISSIPPI MUD
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
This recipe comes from Jan Payne of Birmingham, Ala.
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups each: all-purpose flour, broken pecans
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Icing:
1 box (1 pound) confectioners` sugar
1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Miniature marshmallows
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 14- by 10-inch baking pan. Put 1 cup butter and 1/2 cup cocoa in a saucepan; cook and stir over medium-low heat until smooth; set aside.
2. Lightly beat eggs in a mixing bowl. Add granulated sugar, then butter mixture, flour, nuts, salt and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 35 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, for icing, blend confectioners` sugar, 1/4 cup butter, milk and cocoa powder in small bowl until smooth.
4. While cake is hot, top with miniature marshmallows, then cover with icing. Let cool.
SANDIES
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Yield: 3 dozen
This recipe is adpated from from ”Great Desserts of the South” by Mary Leigh Furrh and Jo Barksdale.
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1/4 cup confectioners` sugar
2 teaspoons cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup pecans, finely chopped
1 cup confectioners` sugar
1. Heat oven to 275 degrees. Beat butter and 1/4 cup confecioners` sugar in large bowl until light and creamy. Mix in water and vanilla. Add flour slowly, beating well after each addition. Mix in salt. Stir in pecans. Form mixture into balls about 1 inch in diameter using your hands.
2. Bake on greased cookie sheet about 40 minutes. When done, roll in confectioners` sugar.
DIRT CUPS
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Chilling time: 1 hour
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
From General Foods Corp.
2 cups cold milk
1 box (3 ounces) instant chocolate pudding
1 tub (8 ounces) whipped topping, thawed
1 package (16 ounces) chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed
Gummy worms and frogs, candy flowers and chopped peanuts, for decoration
1. Pour milk into a large bowl. Add pudding mix. Beat with a whisk until well-blended, 1 to 2 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in whipped topping.
2. Place 1 tablespoon crushed cookies into each of 8 to 10 seven-ounce plastic cups. Fill cups 3/4 full with pudding mixture. Top with remaining crushed cookies. Refrigerate 1 hour. Decorate as desired with gummy worms and frogs, candy flowers and chopped peanuts.
MUD PIE
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Chilling time: 4 1/2 hours
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
This recipe is adpated from ”365 Great Chocolate Desserts” by Natalie Haughton.
2 cups chocolate wafer cookie crumbs
1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) butter, melted
1 1/2 quarts chocolate or coffee ice cream, softened slightly
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup diced, roasted almonds
1. Mix together chocolate cookie crumbs and butter in a medium bowl. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Freeze 1/2 hour.
2. Spread softened ice cream evenly over crust, rounding off top slightly. Freeze until ice cream is firm, at least 2 hours.
3. Meanwhile, in a 1-quart glass bowl, combine chocolate chips and milk. Heat in a microwave oven on high (100 percent) power until melted and smooth when stirred, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Stir in corn syrup and vanilla. Refrigerate until chilled, but not set, stirring a couple of times.
4. Spread cool chocolate mixture over top of frozen pie. Sprinkle almonds on top and return to freezer until firm, about 2 hours.
DROP SAND TARTS
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 10 to 12 minutes
Yield: 6 to 7 dozen
This recipe is adapted from ”Mother Wonderful`s Cheesecakes and Other Goodies” by Myra Chanin.
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Freshly grated nutmeg
Finely chopped nuts, optional
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until light and creamy. Beat in 1 egg. Combine flour and baking powder. Add to batter and mix well.
2. Drop by 1/2-teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto a buttered cookie sheet. Beat remaining egg. Flatten cookies very thin with fork dipped into beaten egg. Sprinkle with sugar, nutmeg and finely chopped nuts. Bake until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from cookie sheets and cool on racks.
