Millionaire pie is just that rich. A no-bake jiffy dessert made of cream cheese, coconut, Cool Whip, crushed pineapple, and chopped pecans on a graham cracker crust, it is frozen and served still chilled enough that it is easy to press down and sever a tidy piece with a fork. Like five-cup salad (also known as millionaire salad), its ingredient list is a welcoming one; creative cooks might include mandarin orange segments, sweetened condensed milk, shredded coconut, and even chocolate chips; Cool Whip and graham cracker crust are essentials. When maraschino cherries or cherry pie filling is added (as at Furr’s Cafeterias in the Southwest), it becomes billionaire pie.
A cross-section of millionaire pie reveals pineapple chunks and mandarin oranges.