WHAT’S FOR DESSERT?

For the crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together melted butter and Nilla wafer crumbs with a fork until crumbs are evenly moistened.
2. Firmly press crumb mixture into a 9″ pie pan, starting in the middle and working your way outward and up the sides. Using the flat bottom of a measuring cup for this step helps out a great deal and ensures you create a nice, even layer. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Then, remove from the oven, set aside and allow to cool completely. (Keep oven on for the next step)
3. For the cookie dough:
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add milk and vanilla, and beat for an additional minute. Add in flour, baking soda, and salt, and mix on low speed until everything is incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.
5. Using some of the cookie dough, make 8 small (1/2″ in diameter) balls. Place the balls on a non-stick baking sheet or parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake for 7-9 minutes or until their edges are lightly golden. Allow them to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Reserve remaining dough for assembly of the pie.
6. For the filling:
7. In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, flour and salt. Stir in 1 cup of milk and mix until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Continue to stir until smooth and thickened, about 2 minutes, then remove from heat.
8. Beat the egg yolks with the remaining cup of milk. Temper the egg mixture by whisking in a small amount of the slightly cooled milk mixture. Pour the tempered egg mixture into the saucepan with the cooling milk mixture and whisk well to combine.
9. Return saucepan to heat and bring to a boil again, stirring constantly. Lower heat and simmer until mixture is the consistency of thick pudding, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and quickly stir in butter and vanilla. Set aside to cool.
10. Assembling the pie
11. Break off chunks of the cookie dough and press them onto the cooled pie crust. You want to make an even layer of dough, about 1/2″ thick.
12. Pour filling on top of the cookie dough layer, leveling the top with a spatula. The filling should come up about 1/2″ from the top of the crust. Refrigerate until completely cooled.
13. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment, whip heavy cream until it begins to form soft folds. Then add sugar and vanilla, and beat until cream holds stiff peaks.
14. Gently spread the whipped cream on top of the cooled filling, smoothing top. Garnish with chocolate chip cookies and mini chocolate chips.