Reese Witherspoon’s Mud Pie Trifle Is My New Favorite Dessert

If you’re looking for a dessert that’s equal parts comfort food and showstopping, Reese Witherspoon’s mud pie trifle is exactly that. In her cookbook Whiskey in a Teacup, she describes it as a “high-low hack” — a semi-homemade twist on the classic Mississippi mud pie that layers Oreos, chocolate pudding, chocolate cake, and Cool Whip layered up in a glamorous trifle dish. Think of it as a potluck favorite dressed up for a dinner party.

The recipe comes with a sweet backstory, too. Reese remembers ordering mile-high meringue pies at a little Nashville restaurant with her grandparents on Thursday nights. Mud Pie was her pick, and this trifle feels like a wink to that childhood favorite: comforting, deeply Southern, and unapologetically joyful. Here’s what I, along with my neighbors, thought of it. 

This dessert is all about assembly. There’s no marathon cooking required, though you will need to make a chocolate cake (Reese recommends using a mix!). You’ll also need to defrost an 8-ounce tub of Cool Whip and prepare a 5.9-ounce box of instant dark chocolate or fudge pudding according to the box instructions. 

In a trifle dish (deep-sided bowl) — or 10 to 12 individual parfait dishes or stemless wine glasses — layer the ingredients about 1 inch high in this order: coarsely crumbled chocolate cake, pudding, Oreo crumbs, and Cool Whip. Repeat until you hit the top, finishing with a final cloud of Cool Whip plus a sprinkling of cake and/or Oreo crumbs.

This easy trifle dessert is fast, simple, and looks like you put in way more effort than you actually did. Each bite is creamy, crunchy, and chocolatey. It’s sweet but not over the top, especially if you opt for dark chocolate pudding and dark chocolate cake. It’s not trying to be refined or sophisticated, but it is such a crowd-pleaser — it literally brought big smiles to my neighbors’ faces as I made the rounds with Mason jars brimming with trifle.

I opted to layer the dessert in individual glasses instead of a large trifle dish, and the layered look is still stunning. Even if you’re not a “plating” person, the trifle does the work for you.

• Use boxed cake mix. Prepare a 15-ounce box of chocolate cake mix in a 9×13-inch pan. Replace the water in the box instructions with room-temperature coffee for a boost of flavor. The cake can be baked up to 2 days in advance, wrapped, and stored at room temperature.
• Upgrade the cream and pudding. Swap Cool Whip for 3 cups of freshly whipped cream and 3 cups of homemade chocolate pudding if you want more “from-scratch” vibes.
• Process the Oreos. Using a food processor gets the texture of the crumbles just right. Pulse 20 Oreo cookies (about 9 ounces) until you have evenly coarse crumbs.
  Switch up the chocolate bits. Brownies make it extra fudgy, while peanut butter Oreos lean into Reese’s cup territory, which seems fitting.
  Chill it! A 1-hour rest in the fridge makes for cleaner scoops and melded flavors. Save the final decorative sprinkle of crumbs until just before serving so the top is fresh.