Truffle Pie with Cookies & Cream Whipped Cream

Crunchy chocolate cookies, rich and luscious filling, topped with fluffy, cookie studded whipped cream. It is the perfect pie to feed your inner chocoholic. This particular pie looks unassuming, but it is far from you basic chocolate cream pie! 

     I have a confession to make... I am a procrastinator. Not because I'm lazy, I am just so easily distracted. I'll find myself lingering too long on a project, reading an article instead of bookmarking it for later, folding laundry, building one too many lego robot/dinosaur combos with the boys, so many distracting possibilities and the time just slips through my fingers. This pie is what I make when I realize "holy cow its whenever o'clock and we have to leave in an hour and the four of us still need a shower, I need to paint my face, pack a bag, harness the power of the sun..." You know, the usual. So, I dash in the kitchen, hope and pray that I have enough heavy cream, throw this thing together and toss it in the freezer, all while husband-man dangles the boys by their ankles and runs them through the shower, that, or hoses them off in the yard... if it's summer time. As we are dashing out the door, I grab the pie and voila, I look like I'm a prepared, pulled together, responsible adult, when in reality I'm a scatter brained wreck. But, I'm a scatter brained wreck that can cook!

   Or, if I am in a particularly good brain space the day before, I make it ahead toss it in the refrigerator and have it ready to go, so that I can enjoy a leisurely day before I need to be anywhere. I'd like to say that is what happens most of the time, but that, my friend, would be a big, fat, stinking lie! I prefer it half frozen anyway. 

   It couldn't be simpler. Crust first. While it bakes and cools, you melt chocolate and some cream, fill the bottom of the base. Send it off to the freezer. Put the remainder aside to cool. Take out your frustrations on the rest of the cookies. Whip some cream with the now room temperature chocolate ganache, pour on top of the pie, then, you guessed it, back to the freezer. Next whip the remaining cream with the remaining sugar, then fold with half the remaining cookies and top the pie. Last step, add the remaining cookie crumbs and chill. 

Truffle Pie with Cookies and Cream Whipped Cream

serves 8-12

(click here to print)

1 14 oz package chocolate cream sandwich cookies (Oreos)

1/4 cup butter
12 oz semi-chocolate or butter sweet chocolate
2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar, divided

   Preheat oven to 350 F. In a sauce pan melt over low heat, melt the butter, watching carefully not to burn. In a gallon size freezer bag, pour in 2/3 of the cookies, seal and smash to crumbs with a rolling pin. Once the butter ins melted, pour in the butter. Shake until all the crumbs are coated with butter, pour into the pie pan and press firmly into a layer, going up the side of the pan. Bake for 8 minutes or until set. Place crust in the freezer to chill while you make the ganache.
   For the ganache, in a sauce pan over medium low heat, heat chocolate and 1 cup of cream stirring constantly, until melted and combined. Pour 1/3 of the mixture into the bottom of the pie shell and return to the freezer. Place the remaining chocolate ganache in the refrigerator to cool. Only cool until it it no longer warm. It should not be thickened or set up, it should take no longer than 5 minutes in the refrigerator.
   While that is chilling add the remaining cookies to a gallon size freezer bag and smash, but still leaving some large pieces. Set aside.
   In a stand mixer or using a hand mixer whip 1/2 cup cream, 1/4 cup confections sugar and now cooled ganache. Whip until form soft peaks. Pour into the crust and return back to the freezer.
   Using a stand mixer or a hand mixer, whip the remaining 1/2 cup cream and remaining 2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar until soft peaks form, then fold in about half of the cookie crumbs. Pour into the middle of the pie and scatter on the top of the pie. Chill in the refrigerator for two hours or freeze for 30 minutes.

*I like to make this in the disposable cake tins you can see in the picture, because once it sets, you can pop this right out and place it on a pretty platter. Of course, a spring form pan would do the same, except that mine is ginormous, but if you have an 8 inch, it would be perfect. Of course, a regular pie pan if just fine too.

xoxo,
Ashley

Strawberry Handpies

So... These are technically, hand pies,

 but my boys call the "homemade poptarts without all that junky stuff." 

They are by no means healthy, but I can pronounce all of the ingredients, so there's that.

I don't make these often, they go fast, too fast. Little noses sniff them out and little hands grab them in the blink of an eye. They get gobbled up in a flash.

They are easy peasy though. Especially, if you use a food processor for the dough!

Then comes the filling.

Pick a shape, any shape.

Fill them up.

Bake them up.

 Cool and coat with glaze and sprinkles.

(Because everything is better with sprinkles.. or bacon.)

The proceed to stuff them in your face!

This crust is flaky, buttery and soft. The filling is sweet, tart and gooey, in the best possible way.

These two have sneaky fingers.

You know you want a bite!

Strawberry Handpies

Makes approximately 8
(click to print) 

for the dough:

2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons cold butter, cut into cubes

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 - 6 tablespoons cold milk 

extra flour for rolling

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon water

1/2 cup strawberry filling (recipe follows)

strawberry glaze (recipe follows)

red colored sugar or sprinkles for decoration

Preheat oven to 350 F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. In a food processor combine flour, butter and vanilla. Pulse until mixture looks like wet sand. Turn on and add milk through the funnel a tablespoon at a time. Checking dough between. Stop once the dough makes a ball. Remove dough from bowl, flatten into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour. After the dough has chilled roll it out on a cold, floured surface, about 1/4 inch thick and cut out into your preferred shape. Fill each one with a teaspoon of filling, unless you are using a larger shape then add more, Cover each one with another layer of dough and crimp edges with a fork. Mix egg and water together in a small bowl and brush over each pie. Place on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 8 - 12 minutes, until gold brown. Once your pies are done allow to cool then spoon over 1 - 2 tablespoons of glaze for each pastry and top with sprinkles. Allow glaze to harden before eating. 

for the filling:

1 cup diced strawberries

juice and zest of a lemon

1/2 cup sugar

In a medium sauce pan combine all ingredients over low heat stirring often. Once the sugar has dissolved and berries have softened. Using a stick blender or an upright blender, puree the berries until smooth. Continue to cook until the berries have thickened to a thin jam like consistency. Cool just slightly before adding to the pies.

for the glaze:

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon strawberry extract

2 -  tablespoons cold milk

In a small bowl stir together the sugar, extract and 1 tablespoon of milk, adding another tablespoon at a time until you have a thick but pourable consistency. 

   I'm sharing these in honor of my little helper's fifth birthday today! These are one of hos favorite things so I'm sharing them with you. This morning we are having, our family's birthday tradition, sprinkle pancakes with fresh strawberry syrup. Happy Birthday to my favorite Stink Monster!

xoxo,

Ashley