Cookie Butter Pie
June 1, 2017 by Nicole Collins
Would you say that being a grownup is everything you thought it would be?
I don’t think I would.
As kids, most of us can’t wait to grow up. We think, “When I’m a grown up, I’ll stay up as late as I want.” Or “I’m going to eat cookies and cake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.” “No one can tell me what to do when I’m a grown up.”
Oh how young and dumb we were.
In reality, I find myself begging to be able to go to bed at 9pm, “Uncle Sam” tells me what to do, and I can’t even look at a slice of cake without gaining a pound. That’s the life of a responsible adult anyway.
One night, I was on my friend, Jen-enifer’s, boat; and we decided that after a long day of boat business, we needed some dessert. We called around to all of the restaurants within walking distance from her marina to find out what their dessert menus were for the evening. We came across 2 specials from 2 different restaurants that both sounded AMAZING. So, we invoked our adult card, and ordered both. I guess being an adult does have its perks. #adultingisntallbad
Today’s recipe was inspired by one of those heavenly desserts. It was some kind of cookie pie, at least that’s what they called it. When we asked what it tasted like or what was in it, the young lady on the other end of our call couldn’t describe it, other than repeating “it’s delicious”.
If I’m going to be honest, I don’t think I know any other way to describe that pie either. And it was served with some vanilla bean ice cream on the side. Wow.
I knew that I needed to figure out how to make something as incredible as that pie, and by George, I think I’ve done it. I've made this Cookie Butter Pie a couple of times now, and everyone who's had it has lost their minds.
I mean this is the kind of pie that requires a minimum of 3 slices per person. And that's still not enough. I made this pie over Memorial Day weekend, and I'm still drooling just thinking about it. If you need to impress anyone in your life, this pie is the way to do it.
Let's break it down... We start with a shortbread cookie crust. I LOVE shortbread cookies. They're not crazy sweet, but they're super buttery. They just melt in your mouth, which is my favorite part. So, we're kicking traditional graham crusts to the curb, because once you have this shortbread crust, that's all you'll want.
Next, we spread a thin layer of chocolate toffee bits over the warm crust and let that get soft and melty. The chocolate melts down, but the toffee stays crunchy. Talk about texture! Mmmm...
Then, the star of the pie: the cookie butter filling. The filling is no bake, so the hardest part of this pie is waiting for it to set. Cookie butter, cream cheese, and cool whip get mixed together to make a mousse like filling that's to die for. It's sweet and creamy with that unique flavor that you can only get from cookie butter. O M G!
Finally, as if this pie wasn't already perfect, we spread a very thin layer of chocolate ganache over the top of the pie. It's just enough to get the taste of chocolate, but not enough that this turns in to a chocolate pie.
This pie is truly everything. And, even though the whole point of dessert is indulgence, you can actually make this pie using low fat cream cheese and lite cool whip. So, if saving a couple extra calories is important to you, you can now have a solution!
If you've never listened to anything I've told you before, listen to me when I tell you that you need to make this pie asap. Like, drop everything, go to the store, and get to it.
Just please don't me mad at me when you eat the whole thing in one sitting. Consider yourselves warned.
Let's eat!
Cookie Butter Pie
Serves: 1-12 slices (based on your self control)
Ingredients:
For the Crust:
1 ½ cups shortbread cookie crumbs (from about 25-28 cookies)
½ stick (4 tbsp) butter, melted
1 tbsp brown sugar
½ cup chocolate toffee baking bits (I used Heath bits)
For the Cookie Butter Filling:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup cookie butter
½ cup powdered sugar
1 tub (8 oz) Cool Whip, thawed
For the Ganache:
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions:
Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cookie crumbs, butter, and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Stir until fully combined and the cookie crumbs look like wet sand. Gently and evenly press crumbs on the bottom and most of the way up the sides of a 9 inch pie plate. Bake for 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and spread chocolate toffee bits over the bottom of the crust. Place back in the oven for 3 minutes. Remove from the oven, and very gently use a small offset spatula to spread the melted chocolate. (The toffee bits will remain hard and steady). Set aside until completely cooled.
Make the filling: In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and cookie butter together with a hand mixer until combined. Add in the powdered sugar, and beat til combined. Add the Cool Whip, and beat until everything is incorporated. Pour the filling in to the crust and smooth out the top as best as possible.
Make the ganache: In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat heavy cream until it just starts to bubble. As soon as you see bubbles, remove it from the heat. Place chocolate chips in a small bowl and pour warm cream over top. Let sit for one minute. Whisk chocolate and cream together until fully combined and smooth. Pour ganache evenly over the top of the pie filling. Use a small offset spatula to gently spread the ganache over the entire pie. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or overnight) before cutting and serving.
Recipe notes:
*To make shortbread cookie crumbs, place cookies in a food processor and pulse until the cookies are finely ground. When I used Girl Scout's Cookies shortbread cookies, I needed about 28 cookies. When I used Keebler shortbread cookies, I needed about 25. It will vary depending on the size and thickness of your cookie. The ultimate goal is to have 1 ½ cups of crumbs.
*You can use lowfat cream cheese and lite Cool Whip in this recipe.
*I can't always find Heath baking bits. If you can't, buy a couple Heath or Skor candy bars, and run your knife through it til it's finely chopped.
