Oreo Pie Recipe on Food52 (2024)

At Camp Seafarer in North Carolina, there is no dessert that generates as much floor-stomping, hands-waving excitement as Oreo Pie. As I remember it, Oreo Pie was elaborate: a frozen filling piped with whipped cream and mohawked with cookie halves. In reality, as a current counselor reminded me, it's much simpler than that: a vanilla pudding set in an Oreo cookie crust, with crushed Oreos on top.

Here, I make the pie as I remember it: A vanilla pudding (the recipe comes from Erin McDowell's book!) lightened with whipped cream and flecked with Oreo crumbs is frozen in a cookie crust until you can take firm but creamy slices.

I guarantee it will taste good—and even better if you spend 20 minutes cheering about it first. —Sarah Jampel

Sometimes when the mood strikes for a sweet homemade pie, you just don't want to go through all the effort of baking the crust and making the filling from scratch and baking again. That's where this wonderful no-bake pie comes in. It features ingredients you probably have on hand already and takes just a few minutes of your time to assemble. With crushed-up Oreo cookies as the crust and a beautifully textured black-and-white appearance, this pie is a wonderful cooling-off dessert for the summer, but is also delicious enough to serve at the end of any holiday meal, from Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve and beyond. The best part is you can make it ahead of time and let it hang out in the freezer for a few hours before showtime. Though we wouldn't recommend making the pie a day ahead, as the final texture could get icy and frosty. So just pop it in the freezer right before dinner, and it'll be ready to go as you're serving dessert.

For the pudding, it gets super-thick and luscious thanks to the addition of whole milk, heavy cream, cornstarch, and egg yolks. Just be sure to constantly whisk the mixture when you're adding the egg yolks so they don't scramble. Other than that, this recipe comes together quickly, as the crust is made thanks to the work of a food processor. You and your guests will love the rich flecks of Oreos in the crust, and sprinkling the final pie with them puts it over the top flavor-wise too. —The Editors

Directions

1. Pudding
2. In a medium pot, combine the milk, cream, salt, and ¼ cup of the sugar. Heat over medium heat and bring the mixture to a simmer, uncovered, for 3 to 5 minutes.
3. In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the cornstarch and the remaining ½ cup of the sugar.
4. When the milk mixture comes to a simmer, whisk the eggs into the cornstarch mixture.
5. Using a ladle, gradually transfer about one-third of the milk mixture to the cornstarch mixture, whisking constantly to avoid scrambling the eggs.
6. Pour the yolk mixture into the pot with the milk mixture and continue to whisk constantly over medium-low heat.
7. Switch to a rubber spatula and continue to cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until large bubbles appear in the center. You're looking for a thick and creamy texture. Stir in the vanilla extract and let the pudding cool completely (place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top to prevent pudding skin). You can use an ice bath to expedite the cooling process, but be sure to whisk frequently so that the pudding cools evenly.

1. Crust and Assembly
2. In a food processor, pulverize the cookies until you have fine crumbs. Remove 1 cup of the cookies and set aside.
3. Leave the remaining crumbs in the food processor and add the butter and salt. Pulse until the crumbs are moist and begin to stick together.
4. Transfer the crumbs to a 9- or 10-inch pie plate and use the back of a spoon (or your fingers) to compact them. Place the crust in the fridge while the pudding cools.
5. When the pudding is cool and the crust is chilled, whip the cream to soft peaks. Gently fold the cream into the pudding to lighten it, then fold in almost all of the reserved crumbs.
6. Pour the pudding into the prepared crust (you might have ½ cup or so left over—chef's treat!) and smooth with an offset spatula. Sprinkle any reserved crumbs over top. Chill in the freezer for 2 or 3 hours, until very cold and solid.
7. Slice and serve!