Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Tart in Oreo Crust with Chocolate Ganache
At the crossroads of nostalgia desserts and show-stopping confections is this beautiful chocolate chip cookie dough tart in Oreo crust with chocolate ganache. As much a mouthful to eat as to say, this easy-to-make, crunchy, creamy, sweet, and salty delight is the perfect make-ahead dessert. My version below is slightly modified from the most excellent recipe by food blogger Buttermilk By Sam.
The filling for this chocolate chip cookie dough tart is a fluffy layer of buttery brown sugar crème chock full of chocolate chips reminiscent of that Toll House cookie dough of my youth that was far preferable, to me, than the baked cookie that resulted.
The crisp deep chocolate base is a crust of crushed Oreos and butter baked just long enough to hold it together. One of two store-bought cookies that I have a weakness for (the other is Walker’s shortbread), original Oreos are oddly very difficult to get my hands on without vigilance in my shelf search. I don’t know about your grocery stores, but in my neck of the woods, Oreos take up a good third of the cookie aisle and come in more versions and flavors than a person needs. And finding the Originals is always a Where’s Waldo adventure. I believe this is the Nabisco version of jumping the shark.
Digression aside… Finally, the topping of this most fantastic tart is a luscious ganache with a sprinkling of crunchy Maldon sea salt that really sends the decadence level over the top (in a good way). Start to finish, the tart can be in the fridge and chilling within an hour. And while it does need to chill at least four hours (overnight is best), it’s an excellent dessert for a dinner party that needs a Wow! dessert, for a picnic where you want lots of slices to feed a crowd, or for the family just to show them how important you are to their survival because without you (hide this recipe), their lives would lack the utter fantasticness your cooking/baking brings to them.
Onward and upward, cookie pants!
Please see the full recipe below for viewing or printing and if you’ve got Q’s, I’ve got (hopefully) A’s listed just below. If not, leave me a comment and I’ll see if I can help or clarify. I have many pics of the final product but none of the process because I have yet to jibe photography with Oreo schmutz on my fingers. Feel free to leave tips. Much appreciated.
Oreo Cookie Crust
- Use Original Oreos. Do NOT use Double Stuf. Keep those for yourself; pull two apart, toss the bare cookies and enjoy yourself a quad. TDF. Also don’t use the Thins. I just have no words for that version. Just why?
- You do not need to remove the filling from the Oreos before using.
- The easiest way to pat the crumbs evenly into the tart pan is to use the back of a small metal cup measure, tamping from center out until you get the edges even.
- Don’t smoosh the crumbs until they look solid or solid they will become when they bake. That breaks teeth.
- Use unsalted butter. I think Oreos have a salty back taste so you don’t need more in the crust. Unless you want it. Then go for it, babes. This is YOUR recipe now.
Filling
- I use half semi-sweet and half bittersweet chocolate because I like the bitter balance against the sweet filling but my heathenkin prefer the semi-sweet. We compromise. Use the chocolate chip of your choice. The original recipe uses chopped chocolate but I like that this filling looks like the old-school cookie dough with chips throughout.
- Use heavy cream or whipping cream in the filling. There is just no substitute.
- The flour must be toasted to make it safe for raw consumption. Not to get into the ick factor but you can google why this is an important step.
Ganache
- As above, use the chocolate you like best. Except milk chocolate. In my opinion, it doesn’t make a very nice ganache. But this is your tart. If you like it, go for it. I do, however, think you’d be wasting your ingredients if you used white chocolate, you rebel, you.
- After pouring the ganache over the tart filling, let it sit in the refrigerator about 10-15 minutes (even longer wouldn’t hurt) before sprinkling on the Maldon. If you sprinkle it while the ganache is too soft, it will dissolve in. Still tastes good but doesn’t look at pretty.
I hope you make this chocolate chip cookie dough tart in Oreo crust with chocolate ganache … Just as wordily named and easy-to-make as my also not-to-be missed Banoffee Pie. If you do assemble this fine bit of edible heaven, please let me know in the comments below or on social media … Instagram’s my baliwick but I do have a FB account. I’m at @piecrustandpasta #piecrustandpasta. Glad to answer questions and/or correct any mis-writes. Just let me know and thanks for reading.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Tart in Oreo Crust with Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
Oreo Crust
- 32 Oreo cookies Original
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (one stick)
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Filling
- 1 cup All-Purpose flour
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup brown sugar light
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 tsp Vanilla pure extract
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 2/3 cup good chocolate chips or chunks half bittersweet, half semisweet
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
Chocolate Ganache
- 2/3 cup good chocolate chips or chunks half bittersweet, half semisweet
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp Maldon or other flaked sea salt or more to taste
Instructions
Oreo Crust
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 10-inch tart pan with nonstick spray.
- In a food processor pulse the Oreos until there are no large pieces of cookie left. Add the melted butter and pulse until it's incorporated and resembles wet sand.
- Press the crumbs into the tart pan evenly across the bottom and up the sides.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes. When done, cool on a rack and then place in the refrigerator or freezer while making the filling. Keep the oven on.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Filling
- On a parchment- or foil-lined baking sheet sprinkle the flour in an even layer and put into the oven for 10 minutes. When done, remove to a cooling rack until room temperature. Continue with next steps.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5-7 minutes. Add the vanilla and salt and beat an additional minute.
- Add the toasted flour and the chocolate(s) to the mixer and mix on low speed to combine.
- Add the heavy cream and beat on medium-high speed for five minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Remove the tart from the refrigerator or freezer and spoon the filling into the crust, spreading it evenly. Smooth out the top. Place into the refrigerator while you make the ganache.
Chocolate Ganache
- Combine the heavy cream and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and heat on high in 15 second increments just until the cream starts to steam a bit (about 1.5 minutes in my microwave). Sit on the counter for a few minutes and then stir until you have a smooth, glossy ganache.
- Take the tart from the refrigerator where it has been cooling and pour the now just-warm ganache over the tart, spreading with an offset spatula or spoon to cover the entire surface of the filling. There may be a bit peeking out toward the edges.
- Place the tart in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes or until the ganache is not quite set. Sprinkle the the Maldon (or other sea salt).
- Refrigerate at least four hours before serving.