Iva Lou’s Backgammon Pie
But the highlight of the weekend for me was when Auntie Iva Lou taught me how to make her famous backgammon pie–a decadent dessert layered with pie crust, pudding and whipped cream. AIL said she got the recipe from a friend years ago. She made it for a crowd once and–because of the positive feedback–has been making it for gatherings ever since.
A backgammon pie tastes like a jazzed up chocolate pudding pie. At the bottom is a walnut-studded pie crust that’s buttery and flaky. On top of that is a tangy mixture of cream cheese and whipped cream. Then a layer of chocolate pudding. Followed by a spread of whipped cream. Each layer has a subtle, yet distinctive flavor that complements each other perfectly.
I poked around on the Internet for the origin of this dessert, but couldn’t really find anything. A quick search for “backgammon pie” in Google yielded more results in the board game than anything that resembles a pie. Something called a Republican dessert is similar to this recipe, though I can’t figure out why this dish is either backgammon or Republican. Please share if you know more about this treat.
This recipe is very easy to put together, especially for something that’s so rich and delicious. You can make this a couple of days ahead and store it covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator. This pie is delicious as it is, but to make even prettier, I might garnish the top with some chopped walnuts or a few shavings of dark chocolate next time.
I love it when someone teaches me how to cook something. The new recipe not only expands my repertoire, it also helps me remember the time I spend with the person. It’s like a scrapbook made up of delicious flavors and smells. Now I can never make backgammon pie without thinking about the weekend with AIL, about how much fun we shared with each other.
Iva Lou’s Backgammon Pie
For the crust:
- Unsalted butter, 8 tablespoons (1 stick), softened
- Granulated sugar, 1/4 cup
- All-purpose flour, 1 cup
- Walnuts, 1 cup, chopped
For the filling:
- Granulated sugar, 1 cup
- Cream cheese, 8 ounces, softened
- Cool Whip, 12-ounce container (you can also whip up your own in a mixer with 2 cups of heavy whipping cream)
- Chocolate instant pudding, 1 3.9-ounce package
- Vanilla instant pudding, 1 3.9-ounce package
- Whole milk, 1 3/4 cup
To make the crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream butter and sugar in a mixer until blended, about 2 minutes. Add flour and chopped nuts until mixed well. Press mixture into a 9-by-13-inch pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes and set aside to cool, about 30 minutes.
To make the filling:
Cream sugar and cream cheese in a mixer. Add half of the whipped cream and mix until well incorporated, about 1 minute. Spread over cooled pie crust.
Combine chocolate and vanilla instant pudding with milk in a mixer. Mix until thick on low speed for about 2 minutes. Spread pudding over the cream cheese mixture.
Spread the rest of the whipped cream over the pudding layer. Garnish with some chopped walnuts of shaved chocolate if using. Chill in the refrigerator until the pie is completely cooled, about 1 hour.
Serves 16.
In the last paragraph you wrote cream cheese and I think it should be whipped cream. Totally cool recipe!
Opps! Thanks for pointing that out. Typo fixed!
This is good stuff. Been eating it all my life at our family get-togethers!
Just reading the ingredients, this dessert is what we know in our family as “Better than Sex”, or another name for it is “Better than Robert Redford”. You can find many recipes under those names on the internet. It is my all time favorite dessert and I’ll most likely make this, and something else??, for Mother’s Day. Happy Mother’s day.
Wendy
Thanks for stopping by, Wendy. Yes, you are right! I just did a search for “Better than Sex” and “Better than Robert Redford”. Sure enough, recipes for this pie turned up. Hehe, I think those names sound much more delicious than Backgammon Pie. Hope you have a great Mother’s Day too!