Chocolate Mud Pie Bars — An EASY, almost no-bake dessert with a chocolate chip cookie base, chocolate pudding, sweetened cream cheese, Oreos, and hot fudge!! RICH, decadent, indulgent, and a great party dessert that you can MAKE-AHEAD!!
Decadent Mud Pie Dessert
This is such an easy dessert, and aside from the cookie dough layer —which is baked for 10 minutes — the rest of this layered chocolate pudding dessert is no-bake. Music to my ears.
Because I slightly underbaked the chocolate cookie layer, it’s so fudgy and rich, and the chocolate pudding makes it even more indulgent-tasting.
The tangy-sweet cream cheese is a great counterbalance to the richness of all that chocolate.
The crunch of the Oreos, in contrast to the silky smoothness of the other layers, is what will keep you going back for more. Long after you’re full, it’s the type of dessert you just want one more bite of.
But because it is so rich, and makes a 9×13-inch pan, it’s a dessert that feeds a crowd and is perfect for picnics, parties, potlucks, and get-togethers.
It reminds me a ton of this Oreo Brownie Lush but with a chocolate cookie base rather than a brownie base. I could eat lush desserts all day, every day.
What’s in the Chocolate Mud Pie Bars?
From the base to the top, the layers for the Oreo mud pie bars are:
- Refrigerated Cookie Dough + Cocoa Powder
- Chocolate Pudding
- Cream Cheese + Cool Whip + Oreos
- More Oreos
- Hot Fudge
How to Make Chocolate Mud Pie Bars
These Mississippi mud pie bars require some assembly, but they’re easy to make!
First, you’ll mix together the store-bought cookie dough and the cocoa powder. Press the dough into a 9×13-inch pan and bake just until set.
When the cookie layer comes out of the oven, top it with chocolate pudding, the cream cheese-Cool Whip mixture, and lastly the crushed Oreos.
Let the bars chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours before slicing and serving!
Can Any of the Ingredients Be Substituted?
If you live in the United States, every ingredient in the recipe will be very easy to find at any grocery store.
If you don’t live in the U.S. you may struggle with finding ingredients and since I have not tried to make scratch versions of each ingredient, to then use as components of this dessert, I cannot give guidance.
In that situation, I would advise to just move on and select any other dessert in my archives. If you’re looking for something rich, chocolatey, and amazing, I recommend any of these 15 Homemade Best Brownie Recipes.
Can This Recipe Be Made in Advance?
Yes! You can assemble it the day before if you’re serving it for a party or event.
Tips for Making Chocolate Mud Pie Bars
For this layered chocolate pudding dessert, you’ll need to use instant chocolate pudding mix and not cook and serve.
For best results, use cow’s milk. A plant-based alternative will result in runny pudding.
If desired, you can DIY the hot fudge sauce. It takes 10 minutes to make and it absolutely delicious!
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Mississippi Mud Pie Bars
Ingredients
- one 16.25-ounce tube refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough, very well softened to room temp
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- one 3.9-ounce package instant chocolate pudding mix
- 1 ½ cups 2% or whole milk, must use cow's milk, alternative milks will not allow the pudding to set up
- 4 ounces cream cheese, very well softened to room temp
- one 7-ounce container marshmallow creme or marshmallow fluff
- one 8-ounce container Cool Whip, I recommend using full-fat
- 32 Oreo Cookies, coarsely chopped; divided
- ⅓ cup hot fudge, warmed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a 9x-13-inch pan with foil for easier cleanup, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- To a large bowl, add the cookie dough, cocoa powder, and with a large spoon, mix the cocoa powder into the cookie dough. It will take a bit of time but it will fully incorporate. Tip - This task will be MUCH easier if your cookie dough is extremely soft.
- Press the cookie dough into the bottom of the prepared pan, noting you may not quite have complete full dough coverage and it may be skimpy in parts, which is fine because it will bake together in the oven. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until just set; don't overbake. Set aside to cool for about 15 minutes.
- While cookie crust is cooling, to the same large bowl (just wipe it out with a paper towel), add the pudding mix, milk, and beat on high speed with a handheld electric mixer for about 2 minutes, or until pudding begins to thicken.
- Evenly spread the pudding over the cookie crust; set aside.
- To the same large bowl (wipe it out with a paper towel), add the cream cheese and beat with a handheld electric mixer to soften and fluff it, about 15 seconds. Tip - This task will be MUCH easier if your cream cheese is extremely soft.
- Add the marshmallow creme and beat to combine.
- Add the Cool Whip and beat to combine.
- Add half of the Oreos and stir gently by hand to combine. Evenly turn mixture out over the chocolate pudding layer in the pan.
- Evenly sprinkle the remaining half of the Oreos.
- Cover pan and place it in the fridge to chill and set up for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- When ready to serve, evenly drizzle the hot fudge, and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Layered Chocolate Pudding Desserts:
Oreo Brownie Lush – A rich and decadent dessert with fudgy brownies, cream cheese, chocolate pudding, whipped topping, and Oreo cookies!! EASY, great for parties, and it’s a chocoholics dream!!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Chocolate Lasagna — A chocolate chip cookie base topped with cream cheese, chocolate pudding, whipped topping, and mini chocolate chips!! An EASY layered dessert that tastes so AMAZING!!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Dream Bars — Nutter Butter crust, chocolate pudding, and peanut butter cream cheese filling!! Easy, almost no-bake, and beyond amazing! Lives up to their dreamy name!
Chocolate Candy Bar Icebox Cake — Easy frozen dessert with graham crackers, chocolate pudding, whipped topping, chocolate chips, peanut butter cups and Snickers! Perfect for when you don’t want to turn on your oven!
Chocolate Pudding and Wafer Cake — This is a no-bake cake that’s made with just three basic ingredients.
great
This looks amazing–love the cream cheese layer and all those oreos! Great idea mixing cocoa powder into premade cc cookie dough–I’ve never come across a chocolate-chocolate chip flavor in a tube.
I have never come across it either but adding a bit of cocoa powder does the trick!