Book Club: Shadow's Snickers Pie

Any excuse to make themed food is one that, I'm happy to say, my friends will rise to with aplomb.  Be it a Hannibal dinner party or a Star Wars/Cinco de Mayo mashup (Cuatro de Mayo be with you).  So, when my girlfriends and I started a monthly book club this year, it was no surprise that meetings often started to involve food to match whatever we were reading.  We made shepherd's pie for Code Name Verity and had plenty of circus snacks for Water for Elephants.

My friend Casie chose last month's book, American Gods.  She and I, both big fans of Hannibal, are very excited to see what showrunner Bryan Fuller does with his adaptation of American Gods on Starz.  Neil Gaimann takes great care in many of the details of American Gods, including the food and drink, which can range in description from tasty to terrible. 

 As a fan of food and food history, I'm always fascinated by the pockets of America where the immigrant history of the country can still be seen in the food that's been passed down from one generation to the next.  Gaimann often makes note of this as an echo of the story of his titular Gods.  They're still here, though many have been nearly lost or overrun by the fast food of spirituality - the media and technology that consume most of humanity's worship and attention in the modern world.  

For the book club, we were sure to make pasties and have some mead on hand.  Early on, our protagonist Shadow seals a deal with the mysterious Mr. Wednesday over 3 glasses of mead.  Later, while laying low in the town of Lakeside, Shadow often enjoys pasties from Mabel's restaurant.

Throughout the book, Casie noticed that Shadow often picks up a Snickers bar as his snack of choice.  Seems like a perfect inspiration for dessert, to me.  Onto Casie's recipe!

Shadow's Snickers Pie

Crust:

36 Oreo cookies

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

2 cups homemade caramel (I used this recipe)

http://blog.meaningfuleats.com/soft-buttery-homemade-caramels/

5 Snickers candy bars, chopped

1 cup peanuts, chopped

1 (8 ounce) block of cream cheese

3/4 cup powdered sugar 

1/2 cup dulce de leche

1 (8 ounce) container of Cool Whip

Directions:

1. Finely crush Oreos in a food processor or ziplock bag with a rolling pin.
2. Mix the cookie crumbs and melted butter together. Press crumbs into the bottom and sides of a 9.5" pie pan. Chill for 30 minutes before filling.
3. Spread 2 cups of caramel on the bottom of the Oreo pie crust. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of chopped peanuts and 2 chopped Snickers bars over the bottom of the pie crust.
4. Combine the powdered sugar and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat ingredients. Add 1/4 cup dulce de leche and mix again. Add in the Cool Whip and mix once more. Gently mix in 1 chopped Snickers bar.
5. Pour the filling into the crust, and smooth out evenly. Drizzle the top with 1/4 cup of dulce de leche. Finish by sprinkling the other 1/2 cup of peanuts and 2 chopped Snickers on top.