Chocolate Oreo Cookie Crust

Toss chocolate cookie crumbs with melted butter and a touch of salt for an easy, flavorful pie crust.

By
The Serious Eats Team
At Serious Eats, we’re a team of self-proclaimed food nerds who are ever-curious about the “why” behind cooking. The staff has worked in restaurants, test kitchens, bakeries, and other notable publications, bringing extensive culinary and editorial expertise to the table.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Updated September 28, 2023
20171220-chocolate-cookie-pie-crust-vicky-wasik-3-2
Photographs: Vicky Wasik

Why It Works

  • Combining bittersweet chocolate cookie crumbs with melted butter yields a quick no-bake crust.
  • A pinch of salt balances the sweetness of the cookies.

Everyone needs a pie crust recipe that comes together in a snap. This effortless chocolate cookie crust, originally published with Stella's no-churn vanilla ice cream pie, relies on just three ingredients—cookie crumbs, melted butter, and salt—to deliver a no-bake crust that's pleasantly sweet and rich in flavor. Simply combine the crumbs, butter, and a bit of salt in a bowl, then press the mixture evenly into a pie plate.

We like using store-bought or homemade Oreos (skip the filling and stick with the wafers). In a pinch, you can use Nabisco chocolate wafers. The crust will also taste great with store-bought or homemade Biscoff, graham crackers, gingerbread cookies, and even similar style gluten-free cookies.

This versatile crust works well in both baked and no-baked recipes. For baked desserts, prepare the crust, then follow the instructions in the recipe; in no-baked options, refrigerate the crust until it’s time to add the filling. It'll be right at home in our no-churn vanilla ice cream pie, a summer strawberry pie, this double-chocolate cream pie, or in our fruity no-bake cheesecake.

January 2021

Recipe Details

Chocolate Oreo Cookie Crust Recipe

Active 10 mins
Total 10 mins
Serves 10 servings
Makes 1 pie crust
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • 7 ounces chocolate cookie crumbs, homemade or store-bought, traditional or gluten-free, see notes (about 1 2/3 cups; 195g)

  • 4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter, melted

  • Pinch of salt

Directions

  1. Combine the cookie crumbs with melted butter and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl, folding with a flexible spatula until the crumbs are fully moistened.

    20190501-ice-cream-pie-vicky-wasik-1
  2. Scrape into a 9-inch pie plate, then compress into an even layer with a flat-bottomed drinking glass or measuring cup, or by hand.

    20190501-ice-cream-pie-vicky-wasik-2
  3. Keep pressing until the crumbs are in a compact, even layer across the bottom and sides of the pan. Use as directed in your recipe of choice.

    20190501-ice-cream-pie-vicky-wasik-3

Special Equipment

Flexible spatula, pie plate

Notes

To make the cookie crumbs, put cookies in a food processor and pulse until you have fine crumbs. Alternatively, you can place the cookies in a zipper-lock bag and smash until fine.

This crust works well with store-bought or homemade Oreos (wafers only), and store-bought Nabisco chocolate wafers.

You can also swap chocolate cookie crumbs with an equal volume of store-bought or homemade Biscoff, store-bought or homemade graham crackers, gingerbread cookies, and gluten-free cookies.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Wrapped in plastic, the crust can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
131Calories
8gFat
14gCarbs
1gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 10
Amount per serving
Calories131
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8g11%
Saturated Fat 4g20%
Cholesterol 12mg4%
Sodium 90mg4%
Total Carbohydrate 14g5%
Dietary Fiber 1g2%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 0mg0%
Calcium 5mg0%
Iron 2mg13%
Potassium 47mg1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

More Serious Eats Recipes