“Welcome to Dante’s Desserts, starring world-renowned chef, Dante. I’m your host, Talon. Today, Chef Dante will show us how to make his famous Ooey-Gooey Fudge Brownie Pudding Ice Cream Pie. Chef Dante, tell us how you came up with this amazing recipe.”

“Well, my grandma’s pudding pie was my inspiration.” Dante waved at the camera. “Love you, Grandma!”

Talon chuckled, “Awww, that’s sweet. Dante, can you tell our audience what made you decide to make your own version of our…I mean your Grandma’s original pudding pie?”

“That’s a funny story, Talon. I was at our family reunion at Seabreeze—”

“For our viewers who don’t know, that’s a small amusement park in Rochester, NY. What happened that gave you the idea for your Ooey-Gooey Fudge Brownie Pudding Ice Cream Pie?”

“Well, when I got off the Screaming Eagle ride with Grandpa, he handed me some spending money. After hitting a few of the food shops, I had cookies in both my pockets, cotton candy in one hand, and a hot fudge sundae in the other hand.”

“Dante, you’re making my mouth water!”

“I know, right? Anyway, we walked back to the pavilion, and when we got there, Grandma was setting out her pudding pie right next to Mom’s brownies. I set down my haul and grabbed a paper plate. I started with a slice of pie for my base. Then, I added a layer of cookies, then I put a brownie on top of the cookies and squished it all down to get a good firm foundation. Then, I dumped the hot fudge sundae on top and admired my creation.”

“What, no cotton candy on top?”

“Are you kidding me? That was long gone by the time we got to the pavilion.”

Talon laughed. “Of course. Well, that was a fun story. Thanks for sharing it, Dante. Now that our stomachs are growling, let’s get right to it.”

“Perfect! First, I grab a huge handful of flour and dump it into the pie dish like this. Then I grab a medium size handful of cocoa powder and dump it in, too.”

“No measuring?”

“Nope, just grab handfuls. Then, take your water and pour it into the mix like this. Next, get your hands right in there and mix it all up. Once you get a nice dark brown color, then you’re on the right track. Otherwise, you’ll need to add more cocoa.”

“Boys, get out of my garden! Are you making mud pies again? You better not have Grandma’s good pie dish!” said Mom, ruining yet another grand adventure.

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April Wenzel writes family-friendly fiction. She is a multi-story FaithWriters Challenge winner. Her readers often describe her work as sweet, intriguing, funny, and surprising. April firmly believes that her most valuable and joy-filled roles are wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. Read her full bio at aprilwenzel.com/about.

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