Today’s chocolate mocha pie recipe is a dessert in a jar for Pi Day! What is Pi Day? In math pi is 3.14, so 3/14 is Pi Day where all things pi (or in this instance pie) are celebrated. Since I am a lover of chocolate, coffee and mason jars, why not combine the three for this fun day? The pies are layered with a cookie crust, chocolate pudding, Cool Whip and vanilla Cool Whip Frosting.
I love desserts in jars because they are already in individual sized portions and because they don’t spoil so quickly. It seems like when I have a large size dessert, the leftovers often get wasted because they start looking messy from people getting a serving of the dessert. When it is in a jar, it stays nice and pristine until you want to eat it. Since I am trying to really watch what I eat lately, I decided to make a lighter version of Chocolate Mocha Pie. The recipe is the same for the regular version but I used skim milk, sugar free pudding and light Cool Whip.
This has been the kind of week that needs a dessert! Take a guess as to what happens when your 10 year old son pours cold milk into a hot glass that he pulled for the final cycle of the dishwasher. Yes…you guessed right…the glass explodes!! The milk and glass shards cover the kitchen. Milk is one of those things that I really don’t like cleaning up because any milk that you miss become sticky and smelly.
Plus any glass shards that are missed can end up in your foot! So, the cleanup takes a long time and when there 5 kids eagerly awaiting their dinner, things can get a little crazy! Usually, my kids are responsible for cleaning up their own messes but when glass is involved I don’t let them clean it up because I don’t want them getting hurt. Anyway, I am having a chocolate and coffee kind of week! How is your week going?
To include coffee flavor in the pie, I warmed up the milk in the microwave, without letting it boil, and added instant coffee to it. Then, I put the mixture into the fridge to cool.
While the milk was cooling, I mixed crushed Nilla wafers with butter to make a crust.
I divided the crust mixture into mason jars. I used eight 8 oz sized jars and put 2 tablespoons of the Nilla wafer crust into each jar. Then, I gently pressed the crumbs down to form the crust. I think this recipe would be perfect for the 4 oz. jelly jars but I only have one of that size left and my local store doesn’t sell them. If you decide to use the 4 oz size, just add 1/2 as much of the ingredients to each jar.
Once the milk and coffee mixture was cool, I whisked in 2 boxes of sugar-free chocolate pudding for 2 minutes.
Next, I added Cool Whip whipped topping to the pudding and stirred until it was combined.
I put 1/3 cup of the chocolate pudding mixture into each of the mason jars. Put the jars into the fridge for 2 hours or until the chocolate filling is firm.
Put chocolate chips and Cool Whip whipped topping into the microwave for 1 minute and then stir well. Allow the mixture to cool for a couple of minutes and then stir in an additional 1/2 cup of whipped topping.
Pour 2 tablespoons of this glaze into each of the jars spreading it out to cover the pudding layer. Put it back into the fridge for 15 minutes to let the glaze layer get firm.
Top with vanilla Cool Whip Frosting and sprinkle with cocoa powder.
The jars can be stored in the fridge until you are ready to serve them. Put the mason jar lid on if you are keeping them in the fridge overnight.
My kids had a really hard time waiting for me to finish taking pictures of these desserts. Once they were finally able to eat one, they couldn’t say enough good things about it. They definitely loved the bites that included some of each layer the most.
Chocolate Mocha Pie Recipe
The Chocolate Mocha Pies are layered with a cookie crust, chocolate pudding, Cool Whip and vanilla Cool Whip Frosting.
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk, skim, if desired
- 3 teaspoons instant coffee
- 30 Nilla wafers - crushed
- 3 1/2 tablespoons butter - melted
- 2 boxes chocolate pudding, sugar free or regular
- 16 oz container whipped topping, light or regular - thawed
- 1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1 container vanilla whipped topping frosting - thawed
- Cocoa powder - optional
Instructions
- Heat milk in microwave for a couple of minutes but do not bring to a boil.
- Dissolve instant coffee in hot milk.
- Place mixture in the fridge and allow to cool.
- Mix together crushed Nilla wafers and melted butter.
- Divide wafer mixture evenly between mason jars. For eight 8 oz jars, put 2 tablespoons into each jar.
- Mix pudding into cold milk with a whisk for 2 minutes.
- Stir in 2 cups of whipped topping.
- Divided mixture evenly between mason jars. For eight 8 oz jars, put 1/3 cup into each jar.
- Place jars in the fridge for 2 hours or until chocolate is firm.
- Place semi sweet chocolate chips and 1 cups whipped topping into the microwave for 1 minute.
- Mix well and allow to cool for a couple of minutes before adding an additional 1/2 cup of whipped topping.
- Divide glaze evenly between mason jars. For eight 8 oz jars, put 2 tablespoons into each jar.
- Spread the glaze evenly over the pudding layer.
- Place in the fridge for 15 minutes or until the glaze is firm.
- Top with some vanilla whipped topping frosting and a sprinkle of cocoa powder.
- Store in fridge until ready to serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 395Total Fat: 26gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 197mgCarbohydrates: 38gFiber: 1gSugar: 30gProtein: 5g
Looking for other desserts in a jar?
Chocolate Chip Cookie Delight Peanut Butter Cup Brownies In A Jar
Lisa Bradford says
Hi there
Just wondering what size of chocolate pudding 5.9oz (large) or 3oz (small)? And assuming instant?
Sounds delicious! I’m always looking for new mason jar desserts & this is a keeper!
Tonia says
Hi Lisa,
Yes, I used the instant pudding. For this recipe, I used the sugar-free pudding which is 2.1 oz but you can use the 3.9 ounce regular instant chocolate pudding if you prefer.
Enjoy!
~Tonia
Cherry says
This looks so delicious – I pinned it to use later! Thanks!
Tonia says
Thanks Cherry!
Lynn H @ Turnips 2 Tangerines says
What a great idea! Time to dig out all those old mason jars and put them to good use:) Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines
Tonia says
Thanks Lynn! I love the sound of that!
lisa@cookingwithcurls says
Chocolate Mocha…..I’m in!!!
Tonia says
I hear ya Lisa! It is the best of 2 worlds, right?
Liz says
Yummy! I got a cute cook book for Christmas that is nothing but sweet little jars of dessert. Your post makes me want to get that out and try some of them. 🙂
Have a great week!
~Liz
Tonia says
Sounds like a great book! Thanks Liz!
Lynne Korilko says
I came across this on Love Grows Wild’s link party and love the idea of using Mason jars for individual desserts and this one sounds yummy! Can’t wait to try it!
Tonia says
Thanks Lynne! My teen came home tonight and asked if there were any of the dessert jars left. We told her sorry but they are l-o-n-g gone! 🙂
Stephanie says
This is too cute! Sounds amazing~Thanks for sharing 🙂
Tonia says
Thanks Stephanie!
Lyuba@willcookforsmiles says
Excuse me, I’m just going to sit here and lick the screen…don’t judge!!
Looks awesome!
jennifer says
You always come up with the best jar ideas! I don’t think I ever thought of the fact that a glass could explode straight out of the dishwasher but it makes sense if it is still really hot. Hate cleaning up glass pieces…..my full length mirror fell over last weekend I am still finding little pieces of glass in our closet!
Tonia says
Gah! Really? It is such a mess!
Jenna says
So sorry about the mishap, reminds me of the time I put hot soup in the blender, NOT FUN! I have been dying to make something dessert in a jar, and a lite version is just the ticket! I appreciated your pointing out how non messy this method is, great idea for making a dessert last and easy to grab and eat, not to mention repeatedly cleaning up the kitchen after everyone serves themselves at different times. Thanks!
Tonia says
Thanks Jenna! Hot soup in the blender sounds like a mess!
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust says
Oooh, exploding glass is not fun! These pies are so cute, and I love jar desserts too!!! Thanks for joining in the pie party Tonia!
Tonia says
Thanks Dorothy!