Frozen Almond Joy Mini Pies

{Yup. Still Almond Joy Week. Woot!}

I love the Dollar Tree. It's awesome.

I mean, where else can you buy cereal, greeting cards, bungee cords, an American Flag, and a pregnancy test for only $5 plus tax?

Although I do have reservations about some of the foods they sell at the Dollar Tree, (perishables? um, no thank you) I love finding hidden gems in the packaged food aisles, for only $1.

Like their maple cookie sandwiches.

Or the frosted animal cookies.

Or like the time I bought the entire shelf worth of Tapatio sauce for Mel's birthday party, whereupon I glued his face to the bottle and made him Mr. Tapatio.



Most recently I was at a different store than I usually go to and they had way more packaged foods. And I found these and almost had a heart attack there in the middle of the cookie aisle.

Does anyone else remember these cookies? I inhaled them as a child. I will never forget the pink box. Reminds me of getting pork buns in Chinatown (San Francisco).

So anyway, I, of course, bought two boxes.

{Blogger Rule #3: buy a box to bake with and a box to eat.}

I knew they were going into a crust, I mean hello, this is me we're talking about.

When I thought of doing this week these cookies popped into my head. Then I thought about my new love, Cool Whip, and how I could make a frozen treat. Which is how I ended up buying this at Walmart:

Coconut Cream, aka Cream of Coconut. It was in the Asian food aisle. It's really good, just by itself (but it's not sweetened).

So, a layer of frozen coconut cream, a layer of chocolate ganache, and an almond cookie crust. A frozen Almond Joy!

Brought to you by my love of coconut...and the Dollar Tree.

Frozen Almond Joy Mini Pies

by Crazy for Crust

Ingredients

• 12 almond cookies (Twin Dragon brand or what you find in your store)
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• ¾ cup chocolate chips (any kind, but milk chocolate is more “Almond Joy” like)
• 2 cups Cool Whip
• ¾ cup cream of coconut (also called coconut cream; found in the Asian foods aisle)
• ½ cup toasted coconut

Instructions

1. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with liners. Finely crush the almond cookies in a food processor. Transfer to a medium sized bowl and stir in melted butter. Divide evenly among 12 cupcake liners and press into a crust. (I used the bottom of a shot glass to help me do this step.)
2. Place chocolate chips in a small bowl. Heat cream in a small bowl in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds (depending on the strength of your microwave) just until it starts to bubble. (You can also do this on the stovetop.) Pour heated cream over the chocolate chips and stir until melted and smooth. Equally divide chocolate onto each cookie crust and spread to cover. Freeze for 10 minutes.
3. Mix Cool Whip and cream of coconut in a large bowl. Evenly divide on top of the chocolate layer. Top with toasted coconut and freeze until hardened.

Note: these are best served after sitting out for a few minutes or microwaving for 20 seconds. Otherwise it's hard to cut through with a fork.

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Enjoy!


Yet more reasons I'm Cuckoo for Coconut!:
Almond Joy Cupcakes by Cookies and Cups.
Almond Joy Scones by How Sweet It Is.
Almond Joy Brownie Bites by Flour Me With Love.
Almond Joy Cake by Newlyweds.
Almond Joy Brownie Bites by Confessions of a Cookbook Queen.
Almond Joy Ice Cream by Dip It In Chocolate.

I link up to all of these fabulous parties each week!

Talent Show Tuesday at Chef in Training, Trick or Treat Tuesday at Inside BruCrew Life, Cast Party Wednesday at Lady Behind the Curtain, Sweet Treats Thursday at Something Swanky, Chic-and-Crafty at the Frugal Girls, Tastetastic Thursday at A Little Nosh, Sweet Tooth Friday at Alli-n-sons, I'm Lovin' it Fridays at TidyMom, Sweets for a Saturday at Sweet as Sugar Cookies, A Well-Seasoned Life, Strut your Stuff Saturday at Six Sisters' Stuff, and all of these too!