As promised in my last post, here is the recipe for our recent Valentine’s day dessert, Mandarin Orange Pie. This mandarin orange pie has been one of my family’s favorite desserts for quite awhile now. My mom found it years ago in one of her cooking magazines (maybe Taste of Home?) She let me help make it the first time and after that I was always quick to volunteer to whip it up for dessert. This pie is super easy to make and it is SO good. Trust me. You need to try it!

By the way, I’m currently eating a slice while I type up this post. I mean, how could I resist after staring at that picture while editing it? haha 🙂

Anyway, I’m not a fan of big long preambles to recipes so here you go!

Heavenly Mandarin Orange Pie

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup orange juice concentrate
1/2 cup sour cream
food coloring (optional): 2 drops yellow, 1 drop red
1 carton (8 oz.) whipped topping, thawed
1 chocolate crumb crust
1 can (15 oz.) mandarin oranges, drained
1 square (1 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate
1 teaspoon shortening/margarine

Instructions:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until fluffy. Add the milk, orange juice concentrate, sour cream and food coloring; beat until smooth.

Next, fold in the whipped topping. Spoon half of the mixture into the pie crust.

Set aside eight mandarin oranges segments (to decorate the top later) and arrange the rest of the oranges on the pie. Top with the remaining filling.

Place the reserved orange slices on top of the pie. Melt the chocolate and shortening and drizzle over the top. (As you can see, I’ve had better luck drizzling chocolate but hey it tastes good no matter how it looks!)

Chill in the fridge for at least four hours before serving. I’ve found it helpful to even stick it in the freezer for a bit – maybe an hour or so – to help the pieces stay together nicely when serving.

Enjoy!

And here’s the recipe all together in one place, in case that’s a bit easier for you!