Here at Wide Open Eats, we're fond of giving you recipes that use wild game, but don't worry--possum pie does not use any kind of meat, roadkill or otherwise. This tasty layered pie is also known as Arkansas Possum Pie, or just Arkansas Pie, and can be found in restaurants, roadside diners and church cookbooks all across the state. It's called possum pie, so the story goes, because it looks like one thing on the outside (vanilla), but it's another thing on the inside (chocolate). So it's a pie playing possum!
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Possum pie is a good summer pie, because except for the 15 minutes you need to bake the crust, you don't need the oven for this creamy dessert. The crust is simple, too. Just butter, flour and finely chopped pecans, cut together and pressed into a pie pan. Once the crust is baked, set it aside to cool to room temperature.
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The pie is made up of a cream cheese mixture (cream cheese, heavy cream, powdered sugar), topped by a chocolate pudding layer, topped by whipped cream and pecans. While the crust is cooling, assemble the different layers. The instant pudding mix, a combination of instant chocolate pudding, chocolate fudge pudding and milk, needs to set for about five minutes.
Once the pie crust has cooled, spoon the cream cheese layer onto the crust. Then carefully spoon the chocolate layer on top of the cream cheese. Refrigerate for four hours so that the possum pie sets completely. Whip the remaining heavy cream (or use Cool Whip in a pinch) and add it on top of the other layers, then sprinkle on more pecans. Serve and enjoy!
Watch: Cinnamon Whiskey Pecan Pie
Southern Possum Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 8 tbs butter, cubed
- 1 cup flour
- 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
Cream Cheese Layer
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 tbs heavy cream
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
Pudding Layer
- 1 3.4 oz box instant chocolate pudding
- 1 3.4 oz box instant chocolate fudge pudding
- 1 3/4 cup milk
Whipped Cream
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup pecan halves or pieces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- In a mixing bowl, cut the butter into the flour until crumbly. Add the pecans, then press the mix into an 8 or 9 inch pie pan.
- Bake until it starts to brown, about 15 minutes. Go ahead and turn the oven off because you won't need it any more for this. Set aside the crust to cool completely.
- Whip the cream cheese then add the cream and powdered sugar. Use more cream if desired, but generally a firmer texture means it will set better.
- In a separate bowl, combine the pudding mixes and whisk in the milk. Let rest about 5 minutes to set.
- Once the pie crust has cooled, spoon the cream cheese mix onto the bottom. Then layer the pudding over it. Refrigerate for 4 hours to set completely, then whip the remaining heavy cream, add it on top, and sprinkle on the pecans. Toss in some chocolate shavings and cookie crumbles if you so desire as well.
