Candy Bar Pie

This over-the-top dessert is a rich, gooey, indulgent combination of crunchy cookies, buttery caramel, toasted pecans, silky chocolate and, of course, candy bars!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword candy, candy bars, caramel, chocolate, heirloom recipe, pecans, pie, tart

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 20

Chilling Time 1

Total Time 1 50

Servings

Calories 500kcal

Equipment

9" fluted tart pan, or 9 1/2" pie pan
small bowl, microwave safe
medium heavy bottom sauce pan
medium bowl, heat safe
small saucepan

Ingredients

Tart Pan Preparation

Crust:

24 Oreos
⅓ cup butter
¼ tsp salt optional

Filling:

20 caramels 164g
¼ cup heavy cream
¼ tsp salt optional
2 cups chopped pecans
4 Snickers bars 1.86 oz each, chopped

Topping:

1 ¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips
¾ cup heavy cream
2 Snickers bars 1.86 oz each, chopped
Caramel ice cream topping optional

Pie Pan Preparation

Crust:

29 Oreos
6 ½ tbsp butter
⅜ tsp salt optional

Filling:

30 caramels 246g
6 tbsp heavy cream
½ tsp salt optional
3 cups chopped pecans
6 Snickers bars 1.86 oz each, chopped

Topping:

2 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 ¼ cup heavy cream
2-3 Snickers bars 1.86 oz each, chopped
Caramel ice cream topping optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

To make the chocolate cookie crust:

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Lightly grease your pan (9" fluted tart pan or 9"-9 1/2" pie pan, depending on whether you are using the tart pan preparation or pie pan preparation ingredient proportions)
Put the butter in a small, microwave safe bowl. Using either the melt butter function on your microwave or short (20-30 second) bursts, melt the butter. Set aside to cool slightly.
Tart: 1/3 cup butter
Pie: 6 1/2 tbsp butter
In the bowl of a large food processor, pulse the Oreo cookies (and salt if you are using it) until they are fine crumbs.
Tart: 24 Oreos, 1/4 tsp salt
Pie: 29 Oreos, 3/8 tsp salt
Add the melted butter and pulse a few times until it is combined and starting to clump together.
Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of your prepared pan. Bake in your preheated oven for 8-10 minutes.

To make the caramel pecan filling:

In a medium, heavy bottomed sauce pan combine the caramels and cream (and salt, if you are using it). Place over low to medium low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the caramels are completely melted.
Tart: 20 caramels, 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1/4 tsp salt
Pie: 30 caramels, 6 tbsp heavy cream, 1/2 tsp salt
Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped pecans. Pour the mixture into the crust.
Tart: 2 cups chopped pecans
Pie: 3 cups chopped pecans
Arrange the chopped Snickers bars evenly over the surface of the caramel pecan mixture.
Tart: 4 Snickers bars
Pie: 6 Snickers bars

To make the chocolate ganache topping:

Place the chocolate chips in a medium, heat safe bowl.
Tart: 1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Pie: 2 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
In a small sauce pan, heat the heavy cream just to a simmer.
Tart: 3/4 cup heavy cream
Pie: 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
Pour the cream over the chocolate in the medium bowl. Make sure all of the chocolate chips are submerged and let the mixture sit for about a minute.
Starting in the center and working in gradually widening circles, whisk the mixture until all of the chocolate is melted and it is completely smooth.
Pour chocolate ganache over the top of the pie, if necessary, use a small offset spatula to spread it to the edges.
Distribute the chopped Snickers bars over the top of the ganache.
Tart: 2 Snickers bars
Pie: 2-3 Snickers bars
Refrigerate the pie for at least 1 hour or until set. Cut into small slices to serve, if desired, drizzle the individual slices with caramel ice cream topping.
Tart and Pie: Caramel ice cream topping

Notes

Preparation notes, changes and optional variations:

If you are using any caramels other than Kraft it is best to go by weight. If you are using Werther's chewy or soft caramels, you can go by weight or increase the number of individual caramels by 1/3 (4 Werther's caramels to every 3 Kraft caramels).
The optional salt in the crust and filling is my addition, this pie is very rich and extremely sweet - the salt helps balance it just a little.
I recommend using bittersweet chocolate instead of the semisweet chocolate in the topping - partly because I prefer darker chocolate and partly to help balance the sweetness of the caramel and the candy bars.
I recommend toasting the pecans to deepen and enhance their sweet, nutty flavor. Alternatively, you can buy already toasted/roasted pecans.
The original recipe called for 2 cups of semisweet chocolate to 1 cup of heavy cream - I know mom would have increased that when she scaled this up to a regular pie pan, hence the 2 1/2 cups chocolate to 1 1/4 cups heavy cream for the pie pan version.
- However, I felt like the original amount of ganache was overwhelming for the much thinner tart format so I adjusted that down to 3/4 scale.

Note on Nutrition Information:

The nutrition information for this recipe was calculated for the tart format preparation. If you are using the pie format preparation, you can increase all of the nutritional facts by about 1 1/2 times.

Nutrition