My quest for a mud pie recipe began the way my quests for most recipes do — with Trader Joe’s.

Trader Joe’s sells an array of frozen desserts and treats that even the stickliest of health sticklers can’t avoid, and while the store’s prices may not scream college student budget, they certainly scream addictive and delicious.

My family didn’t buy these sorts of treats except for on the most special of occasions, such as Christmas or my dad’s birthday— my dad is a bit of a chocolate snob, so no boxed cakes for him. And that made these desserts even more special.

While the rich chocolate ganache cake we’ve bought before is still around today, the mud pie — is not.

And no, a chocolate pie is not the same thing.

So after a few years of hoping for Trader Joe’s to magically bring back the dessert I wanted the most, I decided to give it a shot — scouring the internet for what I might find.

My first time was a bit of a failure.

Most of the nearby grocery stores did not sell coffee ice cream — a major component to mud pie.

Instead, we had chocolate and peanut butter cup ice cream pie, which was still good, if very sweet.

Well, this year on my birthday, I was ready.

And did I freaking deliver.

To make a good mud pie, you will need:

1 pie tin

1/3 pint coffee ice cream

1/2 jar hot fudge sauce

18 Oreos (crushed into a fine blend)

3 tablespoons butter (melted)

1 bottle Hershey’s syrup/whipped cream (to use as desired for decor)

Tinfoil or some other way to prevent freezer burn

Directions

1. First, grease the pie tin.
2. Then, crush the Oreos with the melted butter. This is easier said than done. One way is to place the Oreos in a large plastic bag, seal it and then crush finely by rolling (and whacking) with a rolling pin. The other way is to blend them. Try crumbling them a little bit with your hands first so they’re not full Oreos when they go in.
3. Once you have the Oreos down to fine blend (using the cream between the Oreos and the melted butter as adhesive), press the crumbs into the tin until you have a nice thin layer. Because it is crumbly, it likely won’t be able to go over the “lip” of the tin successfully, but we can fix that later.
4. Wrap in tinfoil and refrigerate or freeze this crust for a least half an hour.
5. Create a thin layer of fudge over the circumference of the crust. I personally heated the fudge up to make it easier to spread, but make sure it doesn’t try to pull the crust apart.
6. Refrigerate or freeze again for an hour.
7. Spread a layer of coffee ice cream inside the tin and smooth it out with a knife or spatula until you get the desired effect.
8. Freeze again for at least an hour, then it’s time to decorate!
9. I put halves of Oreos around the edge of my pie to make up for the lack of crust around the rim, but here is also where you can make fun designs with Hershey’s syrup, crushed Oreo crumbs, whipped cream, etc. Go nuts! Hey, maybe even throw in some nuts.

Then cut some pie, and serve! It’s the perfect dessert for any celebration or even just a hot day.