Why This Recipe Works

With their nubs of chocolate and rich, buttery flavor, chocolate chip cookies bring a new twist to the crumb crust of ice cream pie. Freezing the store-bought cookies before processing them ensures that the chips won’t melt under the hot blades, providing contrasting texture. We also make sure to cool the melted butter that glues the crumbs together for the same reason. The bottom of a measuring cup is an effective tool for packing the crumbs into the pie plate. The rest of the pie comes together quickly with layers of ice cream and gooey store-bought fudge sauce.

Before You Begin

We developed this recipe with chocolate chip cookies from Tate’s, which we like for their rich, caramelly flavor. We used vanilla ice cream, but any flavor would be delicious. If your ice cream is too firm to spread, place it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to soften.

Instructions

Melt 6 tablespoons unsalted butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Set aside until cool but still liquid, about 15 minutes.

Pulse 7 ounces crispy chocolate chip cookies, frozen for 20 minutes, in food processor until fine crumbs form, about 10 pulses. Dump crumbs into large bowl, reserving 1 tablespoon for decoration. Add cooled butter and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt and mix with spoon until crumbs are evenly moistened. (Do not mix with your hands to avoid melting chocolate chips.)

Transfer mixture to 9-inch pie plate and press into even layer on bottom and up sides of pan, packing crust lightly with bottom of measuring cup. Freeze until crust is firm, at least 30 minutes.

Spoon 2 cups ice cream onto chilled crust and spread into even layer. Return to freezer until firm, at least 1 hour.

Spoon ½ cup hot fudge sauce over ice cream in small dollops, then spread into even layer with spatula. Freeze until firm, at least 1 hour.

Spoon remaining 2 cups ice cream over fudge and spread into even layer. Cover with parchment paper. Freeze until frozen solid, at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight.

Before slicing, let pie sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Scatter sprinkles, if using, around top edge of pie. Dust reserved crumbs over middle of pie. Cut into wedges and serve. (Pie will keep for up to 1 week, covered with parchment, in freezer.)