Cookie Dough Pudding Pie May Cause Spontaneous Displays Of Unrestrained Joy

There's not much for me to say here. Truly, doesn't a pie made from raw cookie dough filled with chocolate-chip-cookie-flavored pudding speak for itself? It looks incredible, and it tastes even better than you'd hope it does. It requires no special skills or crazy kitchen know-how, and sourcing ingredients should be easy, because cookie butter is now a staple item in just about every supermarket in America. (If it's not at your local store, you should send a strongly worded letter about how they're failing their community.)

This recipe is, quite simply, a pan full of cookie dough filled with chocolate chips and pudding, and I am ready to receive all your praise, awards, and adulation. Cash prizes are welcome, and I'm also open to parades. Making this pie will make dreams you didn't even know you had come true, and if that isn't parade-worthy, I don't know what is.

• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 heaping Tbsp. cookie butter (like Biscoff or a similar brand)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2-1 cup mini chocolate chips (follow your heart on this one)

• 6 Tbsp. butter
• 1 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3-4 Tbsp. milk

• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 2 oz. chopped chocolate

Whisk the cornstarch, dark brown sugar, and salt together in a medium saucepan, then add the milk and eggs and whisk until smooth. Cook the mixture over high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, scraping it along the bottom from time to time to make sure nothing is sticking.

When the pudding begins to steam, add the butter and cookie butter and continue stirring so it melts. After about 4 minutes of cooking the pudding will rapidly thicken up and start to bubble; remove the pan from the heat, stir in the vanilla, then give the pudding a quick taste for seasoning, adding more salt or cookie butter to taste. Pour the pudding into a shallow bowl or baking pan and cover with a piece of plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Put the pudding in the fridge or freezer to cool.

Put the butter and flour into a large microwave-safe mixing bowl, then microwave in 30-second increments until the butter is fully melted. Add the sugar, dark brown sugar, salt, and vanilla, then use a heavy wooden spoon or spatula to smoosh everything together as well as you can. Next, add 3 Tbsp. of the milk and continue kneading until it becomes a soft, cookie-dough-ish consistency, adding more milk if necessary. Press the mixture onto the bottom and sides into a 9" pie pan and set aside.

To make the coating, put the butter and chopped chocolate into a small microwave-safe container. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, then repeat in 10-second increments until smooth. Pour the chocolate into the pie pan and use the back of a spoon to coat the inside of cookie dough crust, then place in the freezer to firm up while the pudding continues to cool.

When the pudding is cool to the touch, stir in as many chocolate chips as you want, then pour into the pie crust and smooth the top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.