Vermont “Mud Season” Pie
During the summer of 2025, Allison had the great fortune of judging the 4th Annual Great North American Maple Pie Contest, an annual event at Baird Farm in North Chittenden, VT. The Bairds host a wicked pie contest, with a record-breaking 31 entries combined in the Savory and Sweet categories in 2025!
The winning pie in the 2025 Sweet category was a delicious entry from Blair Heagerty called the Vermont “Mud Season” Pie, based loosely on a Mississippi Mud Pie. Initially, there were two pies tied for first place in this category and the judges convened to unanimously decide that Blair’s pie should take home the blue ribbon (and some other fabulous prizes, including a year’s supply of Baird Farm maple syrup). While this looks like a long recipe, you probably already have these ingredients in your kitchen and it's a straightforward bake!
What You’ll Need
Instructions
- CRUST Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pulse cookies in a food processor until finely ground. Fold in the melted butter. The crust ingredients should just stick together when pinched. Put crust mixture into your pie plate and spread it evenly across the bottom and up the sides. (Blair recommends using the bottom of a measuring cup to get it even). Bake the crust in the pre-heated oven for about 5-8 minutes, depending on thickness of crust.
- BROWNIE LAYER Chop up your chocolate bar into 1 inch chunks. Melt the chocolate and the stick of butter in a double boiler (or microwave in 30 second intervals). Let the mixture cool to room temperature (should take about 7 minutes). Stir the brown sugar and vanilla into the cooled chocolate mixture. Add the eggs and mix well. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Incorporate the wet ingredients (chocolate mixture) into the dry ingredients and fold until the batter JUST comes together. Don’t overmix. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour about ½ to ¾ of the batter into your cookie crust (and use the rest to make “muffin cup” brownies for individual treats). Bake for about 10 minutes (don’t fret if they get a little overdone; it will all be okay!).
- CHOCOLATE PUDDING Whisk together the cornstarch and cocoa powder in a medium bowl. Stir in the cream. In a separate pot, combine the milk and the sugar over medium heat. Gently simmer until the sugar dissolves. Add the thickened chocolate mix. Whisk constantly for about 8 minutes, just under a simmer. The mixture should be steaming, but NOT boiling! Remove from the heat and add in chocolate, vanilla and butter. Let cool for a few minutes and pour on the brownie layer in the pie crust. You will have leftovers (just keep in a mason jar in the fridge and enjoy with the mini brownies you make). Wrap your pie and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- WHIPPED CREAM Whip the whipped cream ingredients until you see stiff peaks (but don’t make butter by mistake!). Pile high on your pie and ENJOY!
Tips
- Blair recommends "Goodie Girl" brand chocolate. sandwich cookies for the crust.
- King Arthur Baking's 1:1 Gluten Free Flour Mix was used in the original recipe.
