COFFEE MUD PIE WITH OREO CRUST

You're short on time and need an easy - and impressive - dessert for the big party. We've got your back.

You'll Dig the Way These Cookies Crumble

Okay people, this weekend we're going to forget all about politics, trials, scary viruses, and crazy weather...and just chill.

Chill, as in our ice cream pie here, which is - of course - less a pie in the traditional sense than it is a layered frozen sculpture that hijacked a pie pan for convenient slice-ability.

We're not going to go there, however, because we're chillin', right?

Besides, nobody in their right mind is going to quibble over pie semantics when you pull Coffee Mud Pie with Oreo Crust out of the freezer this weekend and you're the one holding the serving spatula. That would be unwise.

It goes without saying that anybody can make an ice cream pie. This will no doubt come as a relief to the millions of folks around the world who've emailed over the years to tell me that they're an utter failure at making pie dough and will therefore never make a decent pie.

This is simply a-no fail pie. There's no dough; it has a crumb crust you could make in your sleep, followed by layers of ice cream and broken cookies, with chocolate sauce on top. We're talking maybe 30 minutes of actual hands-on time and you're in business. I'll walk you through it below.

Incidentally, you'll find this recipe - and more gorgeous photos like the one to the right, by the amazing Johnny Autry - in my upcoming book The Pie Academy.

Make the Oreo Crumb Crust

Start with a large (1 lb 3 oz) package of Oreo cookies. Break up a generous 3 cups of Oreo cookies and put them in a food processor with 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Process to make fine crumbs. (Or, you can simply crush the cookies inside a gallon plastic bag with a rolling pin.) Transfer to a bowl and add 4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter. Mix well. Press the crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 1/2-inch standard pie pan. Refrigerate 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake the crust on the center oven rack for 8 minutes. Cool thoroughly.

Add the Ice Cream and Broken Cookie Layers

You'll need 1/2 gallon coffee ice cream. Partially soften the ice cream and press half of it into the cooled shell (below left). Press 2 cups coarsely broken Oreo cookies into this first layer of ice cream.

Now Top It Off

Mound the remaining half gallon of ice cream on top of the Oreo cookie layer. Put the pie in the freezer while you make the chocolate sauce. Put 1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Heat 3/4 cup heavy cream to a near boil in a saucepan. Pour the cream over the chocolate. Let stand undisturbed for 5 minutes, then whisk - slowly at first - to smooth. Whisk in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Cool until thickish but still drizzle-able. Garnish the pie with the sauce, to taste. Freeze the pie until serving, removing from the freezer 5 to 7 minutes before slicing.

Good Stuff You Should Know

✅ I recently posted a poll over on The Pie Academy YouTube channel, asking viewers about the sort of videos they'd like to see more of in 2020. If you haven't already taken the poll, I'd love it if you did and you can find it here.

✅ I'd also love it if you'd subscribe to our YouTube channel while you're there, if you're not already a subscriber.

🍁 By the way, we're filling up fast for this fall's New England Pie Getaway in Vermont. Be great if you could make it to our biggest live event of the year. You can get all the details here.

✅ This is the perfect time of year to polish up those rusty pie skills and there's no better way to do that than taking one of our online pie making courses. You can read all about them here.