To-die-for mud pie

When Chiara's birthday rolled around this year, she opted for pie rather than cake for her party dessert. Initially I thought, pie?!? I'm not a huge pie fan, and, as my sister-in-law and I have discussed, you're either a pie person or you're not. Well, if you're not a pie person, this pie will make a believer out of you. Because it's not "real" pie; it's mud pie. Thick, chocolate-y, creamy mud pie. It's got layers of chocolate graham cracker crumbs and chocolate ice cream shot through with chocolate fudge and chocolate chips and covered in chocolate cream. What's not to love?

The recipe for Ray's Mud Pie, believe it or not, is from a Disney cookbook that ties in with the Princess and the Frog movie: Tiana's Cookbook. It's the perfect summer splurge.

20 whole chocolate graham crackers
6 Tbl melted butter
1 Qt Chocolate ice cream
1/2 cup chocolate fudge topping
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup powdered hot cocoa mix

Seal the graham crackers in a large plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin until they resemble dirt. Stir 1 1/2 cups of crumbs into melted butter. Pour the mixture into a 9-inch pie pan.
When the crumbs have cooled, press them against the bottom and sides of the pan to form pie crust. Freeze the crust for 20 minutes.

Scoop half the ice cream into a bowl and let it soften about 10 minutes. Then spread it in the chilled crust. Dig eight holes in the ice cream and fill with a tablespoon of fudge topping "mud." Freeze the crust for another 10 minutes.

Stir chocolate chips "rocks" into the remaining ice cream and spread it over the pie. Return the pie to freezer for 10 minutes.

Beat the heavy cream at high speed until cream begins to thicken. Add cocoa mix and beat until it begins to stiffen. Spread the whipped cream evenly over the pie and sprinkle with the remaining cracker crumbs.

Wrap the pie in plastic and freeze for 3-4 hours before serving. Serves 8