Cookie Pie

Well, my in-laws and niece are in town from the west coast, and my niece asked if she could bake with me while she's visiting. Just so happens that I have also been feeling nostalgic for my alma mater and my favorite dessert that they offered while I went to college there. It was called "Tollhouse Pie". 

Now, let me tell you a little about this "Tollhouse Pie". It was thick, had a flaky top, and an ooey, gooey, chocolaty cookie center. It was the kind of dessert that when you were having a bad day, it made it all better. And legend has it that there may or may not have been those who used to sneak some of it out of the dining hall because they loved it so much.

Anyway, when it came time to decide what to have my niece help me bake while she was here, I figured that I would let her help me with my adventure in trying to replicate this amazing pie. The tasks would be easy enough for her and we would have fun together!

Easily enough for me, I used my regular chocolate chip cookie recipe, but didn't add my "chips" in until I put the dough into the pie pan. I put a layer of the dough into the bottom, placed my Hershey's melts (they're new... they're fat, round, and almost completely flat) all on the dough, layered the rest of the dough on top, and finished it off with mini M&Ms. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, and there you go!

For those of you who have had the privilege of eating "Tollhouse Pie", you know that it doesn't look exactly the same. I did embellish it and leave the pie crust off... However, it tastes exactly the same! Same gooey center (I promise that it is fully cooked) and all.

My niece was so funny after we finished baking it last night. We told her that she could be the taste tester, but that she had to eat dinner first. She scarfed it down, and no sooner than she swallowed her last bite did she stand up and say: "Uhhh, may I please have that pie???" Such a polite four year old! 

After we were done with it for dessert, there were only two very small slivers left over. So very yummy, and I'm so excited that I was able to duplicate the pie that I loved in college! That's what I call a win!