Salted Caramel Pie

Place chocolate cookie wafers in a sealed bag. Crush with a rolling pin until cookies become fine crumbs. Pour in melted butter, and mix around until thoroughly coated. Press the mixture into a 9-inch pie plate, or individual ramekins, saving a few pinches of crumbs for the garnish.

In a bowl, mix the cream cheese and 3/4 cup powdered sugar using electric beaters, about 1 minute. Add caramel sauce and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Don’t stop once it’s just combined—3 minutes adds air, making it nice and fluffy. In a separate bowl, beat whipping cream, vanilla, and remaining 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar until stiff peaks have formed; this takes about 3-4 minutes.

Starting with 1/3 of the whipped cream mixture, fold the whipped cream into the caramel mixture. Once combined, add the remaining whipped cream to the caramel mixture, folding gently until thoroughly mixed. Pour the mixture into the 9-inch cookie crust. Top with mini pretzels and reserved crushed cookie crumbs, or simply a drizzle of hot fudge. Freeze 4 hours or until firm. When ready to serve, let the pie sit out 20 minutes to soften.