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Possum pie

Salads, Dips, Sandwiches and Fermented Cold Dishes

Possum pie is a layered icebox pie associated with Arkansas and rarely seen far outside it. A pecan or shortbread crust carries several layers, commonly vanilla pudding, cream cheese, chocolate custard or sour cream, and the pie is covered by a thick topping of whipped cream. The name comes from the way the pie plays possum, hiding its layers under that topping; the dessert contains no possum meat. Its written history is thin. The earliest mention of the name in the Arkansas Gazette is a 1983 restaurant review, recipes for it only begin to appear in food sections in the late 2000s, and similar layered pies were already being printed by 1982 under the title The Next Best Thing to Robert Redford.

Facts
Classification
Course
Dessert 1
Dietary Suitability
Contains Dairy or Egg 1
Connections

In Cuisine

Source Possum pie (source article)

Uses Ingredient

Source Possum pie (source article)
Pecan, Ingredients
Source Possum pie (source article)
Source Possum pie (source article)
Source Possum pie (source article)
Sources
1. Possum pie (source article)
  • Lead paragraphs
    The dessert does not actually contain possum meat.
  • Lead paragraphs [dietary-suitability]
    alternating layers of cream cheese and puddings topped with whipped cream
  • In Group: Cakes, Pies and Sweet Baked Goods, Lead paragraphs [in-group]
    Possum pie is an iconic American pie
  • In Cuisine: American Cuisine, Lead paragraphs [in-group]
    Possum pie is an iconic American pie
  • Uses Ingredient: Cream Cheese, Lead paragraphs [uses-ingredient]
    layers of vanilla pudding, cream cheese, chocolate custard and/or sour cream
  • Uses Ingredient: Sour Cream, Lead paragraphs [uses-ingredient]
    layers of vanilla pudding, cream cheese, chocolate custard and/or sour cream
  • Uses Ingredient: Whipped Cream, Lead paragraphs [uses-ingredient 2]
    topped with whipped cream
  • Uses Ingredient: Pecan, Lead paragraphs [uses-ingredient 3]
    The pecan shortbread crust
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