My friends birthday was pi day. I really wanted to surprise him with his favorite pie, so I sent his roommate in to be my spy. His response to his favorite pie: "Something with five kinds of chocolate in it."
Challenged accepted!
But I needed more chocolate. And I disagreed with sugarhero; I think an ice cream pie would be fantastic!! So I came up with this cookie dough crust ice cream pie!
PS He loved his birthday pie!
Ingredients:
For the cookie dough crust:
2 cups bread flour
1 tbsp corn starch
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 oz butter, at cool room temperature
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cups chocolate chips
3/4 cups white chocolate chips
For the chocolate ganache layer:
6 oz chopped dark chocolate (about 1 cup)
6 oz heavy cream
Thawed Chocolate chip ice cream
Cookie dough crust:
In a small bowl, whisk together the bread flour, corn starch, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Place the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in the large bowl. Mix them together well-combined before it gets light and fluffy. Beating too much at this stage will incorporate too much air and make the cookie dough soft and you want it to be the crust of the pie.
Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract, with the butter sugar misture and mix again until combined. Next add the dry ingredients (bread flour, corn starch, baking soda, and salt mixture) and mix till almost entirely incorporated, with just a few streaks of flour remaining.
Add the chocolate chips and stir them in by hand. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl with a spatula and stir everything well. The dough will be stiff.
Butter a pie tin, a deep 11" tin works best. Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan. Try to make the bottom thicker than the sides, so it will stay moist and soft while the sides get crispier and more firm. If you have the time, refrigerate it overnight to get the most optimal texture and flavor. If you don’t have time, refrigerate it for at least 2 hours, until firm.
When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 F and place the pie shell in the freezer to get really cold while the oven preheats. Once preheated, spray or butter the pie crust lightly with nonstick cooking spray and press foil over the bottom and sides of the pie. Fill the foil-lined shell with beans, rice, or pie weights to keep its shape.
Bake the shell at 375 F for 20-25 minutes. Bake it until the sides are light golden and look fairly set. Remove the shell from the oven and lower the heat to 350. Carefully take off the foil and beans, and return the pan to the oven. Bake for an additional 15 minutes, until the crust is puffed and light golden in the center. If the sides seem to be getting too dark, cover them with a ring of foil.
Let the crust cool completely before filling.
Chocolate ganache layer:
It’s a good idea to make the ganache when you make the cookie dough, so it’s ready as soon as you’re ready to use it. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium heat-safe bowl. Pour the cream into a small saucepan, and heat it over medium-high heat until it simmers and is just under a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and let it sit for one minute to soften the chocolate. Whisk the cream and chocolate together until the chocolate melts and the ganache is smooth and shiny.
Press a layer of cling wrap on top of the ganache, and let it sit and thicken at room temperature for several hours. (You can speed the process up by putting it in the refrigerator, but don’t let it get rock hard!) It’s ready when it’s the texture of peanut butter.
Spread the soften ice cream over the cooled cookie crust. Poor the ganache over the ice cream layer and let cool in the freezer.
My ganache mixed with the ice cream creating that marbled look.
