In looking for a way to combine two great flavors – rich dark chocolate and sweet caramel – the desire to create this pie was born. To step it up a couple more notches Oreo cookies and sea salt will complete the complex flavors of a pie that has a mere 6 ingredients.
What’s easier than a pie that uses only a half dozen ingredients? The sheer simplicity of this pie nearly stumped the staff at 52WeeksofPie. Surely there must be more to it? This pie is just like Nickelback song lyrics: even simpler than you already thought.
Despite the relative shortage of elements that make up this concoction, this pie is long on flavor and depth. Check it out, you’ve got the Oreo cookie crust on the bottom. A layer of easy-to-make caramel sits atop the crust. You’ve got a layer of decadent dark chocolate on top of that. Finally, a dash of sea salt sprinkled across the top to really contrast those rich, sweet flavors.
Ingredients:
- 1 package of Oreo cookies (I used 30)
- 2 sticks of butter
- 2/3 cup of packed brown sugar
- 1 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
- 12 oz dark chocolate chips
- sea salt
First off, crush the Oreo cookies in a food processor. The Ninja worked well for this. Within 30 seconds most of the cookies were completely pulverized (a very underrated word, BTW). A few more quick zaps with the power button and everything looked like finely ground sandwich cookie. After melting one stick of butter, mix it in with the cookies. 
Stir it up real good and then press it into your pie pan. I used a sheet of wax paper to press the cookie/butter mixture into the pie plate uniformly throughout. If you like a thicker crust, use the whole container of Oreos. If you prefer a thinner crust (really?) then use less. Once your crust is ready, pop that pie plate into the freezer while you prepare the filling.
The caramel layer is ridiculously easy. Did you know caramel can be made with brown sugar, cream, and butter? Yep! It’s easy. Melt the other stick of butter and the 2/3 cup of brown sugar in a sauce pan, whisking throughout the entire time. Eventually it will start to boil. Let it bubble for a minute and then whisk in 1/4 cup of whipping cream. 
When you get a nice smooth mixture, remove it from the heat and let it cool. About 15 minutes later, pour it onto your cookie crust and then pop it back into the freezer to help the caramel firm up.
You want to leave it in long enough to gel but not freeze – about 30 minutes, long enough to watch an episode of Archer – 22 minutes if you have it on the DVR and fast-forward through commercials – and get your chocolate layer ready.
Pour the dark chocolate chips into a bowl, then bring 1 cup of heavy whipping cream to a simmer on the stove. Pour the cream over the chocolate chips and let it sit for about five minutes then whisk until it’s all combined, nice and smooth.
Remove the pie from the freezer and pour the chocolate over the caramel layer. Use a spatula to smooth out the top and then return it back to the freezer for at least another 30 minutes. Let your favorite nearby person lick the remaining chocolate off the beater. They will love you for it.
Before serving, I sprinkled sea salt across the top. It definitely helps give it more complexity in flavor but also helps the aesthetics with the contrast of white against dark chocolate. 
Lots of good stuff in there! Warning, it’s rich!
The taste testers loved it! One called it the best pie yet! Like I said, it is rich. You’ll want to cut thinner slices than most other pies. Also, the cookie crust did stick to the pie pan more than I wished. Not sure if I should have greased it or if that was a result of the freezing. One taster did not like the addition of the salt but that’s an easy omission if need be.
Overall, easy to prepare and well received treat tat can be made well ahead of time for a gathering. Hope you like it!
52weeksofpie 