Chocolate chip cookie dough cream pie

With a brand new school year rolling around, I have been on the lookout for new hot trends to fervently record and copy in the next few months.

I kid. But I have noticed certain patterns that seem to have arisen in the past few years, and this year one is more obvious than ever: music. As in, listening to music near-constantly. Driving into school with the radio on, walking through the doors with earbuds and a playlist on shuffle, even listening during class. A surprisingly large proportion of students do this. Frankly, I don’t know how they can possibly concentrate on anything around them with music blasting into their brains at such a volume that it is audible across the hallway, but that’s not really my concern.

My initial reaction to noticing this was, of course, skepticism (and no one is surprised). Like, why do you have to pump music into your brain all day? Can’t you be alone with your thoughts for five minutes? What are you even listening to, anyway? What music is so good that you have to listen to it on repeat for hours at a time? Not that it affects me. But no one’s saying I can’t judge people for their music listening habits...

But I have no idea if the same people who walk down the corridors with muffled speed metal or gangsta rap emanating from their ears also do so outside of school, since none of the people in my particular peer group are one of those music-listeners. Maybe they hate school with every fiber in their body to the point where simply being there is a struggle, and listening to music is their sole coping mechanism. Which is entirely possible. I could relate to that. And I would applaud those people for choosing a safe, responsible coping mechanism, as opposed to, say, picking a fight.

"I'm frustrated with this country's capitalist system, so I'm going to take out my anger on some random kid who looked at me funny." source

What amazes me the most about this trend is how perfectly it encapsulates the technology of our time. Those music-listeners, they are walking around with literally hours of music in their pocket that took thousands, if not millions, of dollars to produce and distribute. If they’re using Spotify, they probably paid next to nothing for that very music. They are taking incredibly advanced technology that wouldn’t have been available ten, fifteen years ago and using it to create an incredibly personalized, unique soundtrack for their lives—even more personalized in the past since it is much easier to find very obscure, underground artists and play them constantly using the internet, Spotify, etc. Is that not mind-blowing? Is this era not a music-lover’s utopia? Damn it feels good to be alive in 2015.

But the best part about this whole thing is the fact that I could potentially walk past someone with their earbuds in and not know that they have been streaming Yakety Sax on repeat for the past three hours. 

Seriously, take a listen. That right there is my jam.

Now let’s take a sharp left in the realm of blog post topics and take a look at this pie.

ARE YOU LISTENING TO YAKETY SAX?

I must blame this pie on The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook, a cookbook which I unfortunately did not have the chance to write because it has already been done by the bloggers over at Love and Olive Oil. The author is truly a woman after my own heart. Each recipe contains cookie dough in some form or another, from the chocolate truffles stuffed with cookie dough to the crepes stuffed with cookie dough to the chocolate chip cookie sandwiches...stuffed with cookie dough. I know. It’s crazy...but I’m in love.

Sarah Vaughan, anyone?

So it was kind of inevitable that I checked out the cookbook eventually. I immediately bookmarked an inordinate number of recipes and selected one to make—this cream pie you see here. It’s a lovely layered dessert, with a chocolate crust, a layer of cookie dough on the bottom, a pool of creamy custard, and lots of whipped cream on top, with tiny chocolate chip cookies for decoration. The result is, as I can attest, pure heaven.

Pure genius, more like.

The only difference between this pie and the one in the cookbook—aside from my veganizing substitutions—is the crust. I tried to make a crust using homemade chocolate shortbread since that was what I had on hand, but for whatever reason the shortbread melted in the oven. Probably because there was too much butter / coconut oil. But I was not concerned. Instead, I used the same crust as the lemon pie I made recently, a simple concoction of dates and oats, adding in some cocoa powder for a chocolaty taste. Worked perfectly. If you want a more traditional chocolate cookie crust, maybe try an oreo crust (since they’re vegan!) or use homemade chocolate wafers, which aren’t as buttery as shortbread.

Or skip the crust and just shovel the filling into your mouth.

Whatever you chose, I can guarantee this pie will make you happy. It is pure bliss for shameless cookie dough lovers as myself.

In coming posts, prepare yourself for more cookie dough-stuffed desserts, as I have several other recipes in my queue from this very cookbook...

Here’s the recipe.

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Chocolate chip cookie dough cream pie

Adapted from The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook by Lindsay Landis

Ingredients

Crust

90 grams • rolled oats • 1 cup

263 grams • pitted dates • 1 ½ cups

10 grams • cocoa powder • 2 tablespoons

Cookie dough

112 grams • vegan butter, room temperature • ½ cup

50 grams • granulated sugar • ¼ cup

110 grams • light brown sugar • ½ cup

2 grams • vanilla extract • ½ teaspoon

30 gram • nondairy milk • 2 tablespoons

170 grams • all-purpose flour • 1 ¼ cups

3 grams • salt • ½ teaspoon

1 gram • baking soda • ¼ teaspoon

80 grams • nondairy chocolate chips (mini, if you have them) • ½ cup

Cream filling

165 grams • light brown sugar • ¾ cup

45 grams • all-purpose flour • 1/3 cup

2 grams • salt • ¼ teaspoon

488 grams • nondairy milk • 2 cups

8 grams • Ener-g egg replacer • 1 tablespoon

45 grams • water • 3 tablespoons

14 grams • vegan butter • 1 tablespoon

4 grams • vanilla extract • 1 teaspoon

Whipped cream

250 grams • coconut cream (the fat-rich part of full-fat coconut milk that separates after chilling) • 1 cup

36 grams • granulated sugar • 3 tablespoons

2 grams • vanilla extract • ½ teaspoon

Directions

To make crust, simply combine ingredients under “crust” in a food processor until a coarse dough forms that sticks together when pressed. Press dough into a lightly-greased 9-inch pie pan in an even layer. Stick in the fridge while you prepare the filling.

To make cookie dough, start by placing vegan butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Cream until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and milk and mix to combine. Spoon in flour, salt, and baking soda and mix just until a dough forms. Fold in chocolate chips.

Press enough of the cookie dough into the prepared pie crust to make a half-inch layer of cookie dough in the bottom of the pie. Return the pie to the fridge. You will have extra cookie dough. If desired, you can bake the remaining dough into little cookies for decoration.

To make the mini cookies, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll cookie dough into marble-sized balls. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the tops are dry and the edges are golden-brown. Let cool on a wire rack completely.

To make cream filling, start by whisking together brown sugar, flour, and salt in a saucepan. Add 244 grams • 1 cup milk and whisk until smooth. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring consistently. Continue to stir until mixture is smooth and thickened, after about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

In a separate bowl, whisk together remaining 244 grams • 1 cup milk, Ener-g egg replacer, and water until no lumps remain. Pour egg replacer mixture into saucepan with the other ingredients, whisking constantly. Return saucepan to heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the mixture has the consistency of a thick pudding, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in vegan butter and vanilla. Let cool until warm to the touch, about 5 minutes.

Pour filling over chilled cookie dough and level off the top with a spatula. Filling should reach about half an inch from the top of the crust. Refrigerate until set, about 3 hours.

To make the whipped cream, simply whip together coconut cream, sugar, and vanilla in an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form.

Spread 2/3 of the whipped cream on top of the custard filling. Pipe the remaining whipped cream around the pie in little dollops. Place the mini cookies on top of each dollop as garnish. Slice and eat. Keep chilled for up to 2 days.

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Those tiny cookies are my favorite.

For more delicious cookie dough-infused recipes, check these posts out.

Cookie dough pancakes. There was actually a recipe similar to this one in the cookbook, proving that I am not alone.

Cookie dough oreos. Skip boring store-bought oreos and try these!

Cookie dough ice cream cake. Utter perfection.