Frozen Mudslide Pies & Turning 40

Frozen Mudslide Pies are the perfect dessert for celebrating turning 40.  That’s right, today is my 40th birthday.  It seems hard to believe in some ways, but to stop and think that my oldest son will be graduating this spring, well I guess it makes sense.

To celebrate I am going to be hosting giveaways all week long!  Starting off today with one of my very favorite things, a cookbook.  Not just any cookbook mind you, I have a copy of Desserts in Jars: 50 Sweet Treats That Shine by the very talented Shaina Olmanson.   Shaina is the creator: cook, writer, and photographer of the amazing and award winning blog Food for My Family.

At Food for My Family Shaina’s writing draws you in and the recipes plus stunning photography bring you back for more.  It is really one of my very favorite blogs and although we’ve never met in real life, I am lucky to call Shaina my friend.

Desserts in Jars is filled with 50 great desserts that are as fun as they are delicious.  I used the Monster Cookies Mix for teacher gifts at Christmas, they were a huge hit! I literally want to try every recipe and I had a hard time deciding which to try first.  I went with the Frozen Mudslide Pies.

When I served these sweet little treats the room first went silent, followed by the sounds of, ” Ummmm, oh man is this good and holy moly this is wonderful!”

Yes, this is definitely a good pick for my 40th birthday, a chocolate-lovers dream!   So come and celebrate with me all week long with some fantastic food and fun giveaways! Giveaway details are found below the recipe.

Frozen Mudslide Pies

from Desserts in Jars: Sweet Treats That Shine by Shaina Olmanson

Ingredients:

for the crust:

• 1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

for the espresso ganache:

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the chocolate filling:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder

for the whipped cream:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
• Espresso powder for garnish

Directions:

1. Make the crust: Mix the cookie crumbs and butter until the crumbs are evenly coated.  Press 2 tablespoons of the crumbs into the bottom of each of eight 8-oz jars and set aside.

2. Make the ganache: Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl.  In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the heavy cream over medium heat just until it boils.  Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate pieces.  Allow to stand for 1 minute and then whisk in the espresso powder and vanilla until all the chocolate crust.  Refrigerate the jars until the ganache is firm, about 30 minutes.

3. Make the chocolate filling: Beat together the heavy cream, confectioners’ sugar, and cocoa powder in a medium-size bowl until stiff peaks form.  Using a pastry bag and tip, preferably, or a zip-top bag with a corner cut off, pipe the filling over the espresso ganache layer.  Cover loosely and freeze for at least 2 hours, until ready to serve.

4. Make the whipped cream: Beat together the heavy cream and confectioners’ sugar.  Pipe a small dollop onto the top of each pie and sprinkle with espresso powder.  Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Miss

Watch the trailer for Desserts in Jars!

Desserts in Jars: 50 Sweet Treats That Shine by Shaina Olmanson Giveaway

To enter:

• Leave a comment on this post.

Bonus entries:

• Follow Food for My Family & Miss in the Kitchen on Facebook.
• Tweet about the giveaway with something like, “Win a copy of Desserts in Jars: 50 Sweet Treats That Shine by @FoodforMyFamily via @missnthekitchen http://bit.ly/YhUavv“
• Follow Miss in the Kitchen on Pinterest.

Leave a comment for each.  Entries will be received through January 28th, 2013.  US entries only.

Disclosure: Giveaway is sponsored by The Harvard Common Press.  All opinions are my own.

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