Chocolate Cream Pie with Oreo Crust

Crust:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place all 14 whole Oreo cookies in a food processor and grind into fine pieces. Place in a bowl with salt, sugar and melted butter. Mix together until all crumbs are evenly coated. Pour mixture into a 9 inch glass pie dish and press with hands into dish to form a crust. Place in oven for 8-10 minutes until the crust begins to be aromatic. Remove from oven and very carefully, using the bottom of a glass cup, press crust down in the pan to compact it when it’s immediately out of the oven. Place on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

Chocolate Filling:
In a medium saucepan, combine the milk with ¼ cup of the sugar and heat over medium heat. Heat until bubbles begin to form around the edge and milk is steaming.

In the meantime, whisk together the egg yolks with the remaining ¼ cup sugar, cornstarch and salt. Once milk is heated, gradually add it into the egg mixture until just mixed. Pour mixture back into sauce pan and on medium heat, whisk continuously at a medium speed until thick and creamy. (This will happen fairly quickly, remember to keep whisking). Once thick, add in all of the chopped chocolate and stir until well combined and melted.

Strain chocolate filling into pie crust through a course strainer. Use a rubber spatula to push filling through strainer into pie crust. Press a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the entire pie, pressing it gently onto the pie filling. Place in refrigerator for at least 3 hours before putting on whipped topping.

Whipped Topping:
Whip heavy cream, vanilla extract and both sugars together at high speed until stiff peaks form. Spread topping onto pie and serve. Pie should stay refrigerated until serving.