Crack Pie
This is a recipe I’ve been meaning to try since probably the first year of SMiLes by Meg. Before I acquired any of the multitude of kitchen gadgets that currently define my baking. Before I had Amazon Prime. Before I felt confident enough to try a recipe that involved 3 separate internal recipes.
But I’ve grown in the last 5 years, as has my kitchen gadget collection, and with the Patriots going to the Super Bowl, I was finally felt ready to make it: Crack Pie.
I first had Crack Pie when visiting Marj in NYC after college. She brought me to Momofuku Milk Bar and insisted I try it. They don’t really tell you what the flavor is when you’re there, and I’m not sure I can describe it to you now. Other than it’s extremely addicting. But ever since then, I’ve wanted to make it.
Shortly after that trip, I did find the recipe online, but once I read all of the steps, I was deterred. I didn’t have a food processor. Or a stand mixer. And where was I going to find corn powder? That’s not a thing. And I had to separate 8 eggs successfully?? This was not a recipe for early-blog Meg.
Now, though, I do have all of those things (Thanks, Mom!), and Amazon Prime sent me some freeze-dried corn, which could be blitzed into corn powder quickly. More importantly, the week leading up to Super Bowl I had time.
The recipe starts by making an oat cookie that you’ll later grind up to make a crust. I made the cookie on Friday night. I assembled the rest of the pie on Saturday, and froze it Saturday night. It’s now thawing in the fridge, ready to go to a Super Bowl party in an hour after I dust it with some confectioners sugar. The second pie (the recipe makes two) is living in my freezer for the foreseeable future, which it can do for a month or two, giving me a ready-to-go dessert next time I have people over!
So let’s get going on that oat cookie. First, beat the butter, brown sugar, and sugar on medium-high speed of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
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Add the egg yolk and beat for 1 to 2 more minutes.
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With the mixer on low speed, add the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until dough comes together.
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Spread the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper until it’s about 1/4 inch thick.
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Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Allow to cool, then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
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When you’re ready to do the pie, the first step is to make the crust. To do that, start by breaking up the oat cookie and putting it in a food processor with light brown sugar and salt. Pulse until it’s the texture of wet sand.
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Transfer the crumb mixture to a large bowl and mix in the melted butter with a wooden spoon.
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Divide the mixture between two pie tins and press into the bottom and sides.
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With that done, you now have to make the filling. This part takes some willful ignorance if you ever want to actually eat the final product. I almost don’t want to tell you all what goes into a Crack Pie, but there must be at least a couple readers out there who, like me, are not dissuaded by butter, cream, and egg yolks.
First, to make corn powder, quickly blitz some freeze-dried corn in a mini chop until finely ground.
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Then, whisk together the sugar, light brown sugar, milk powder, corn powder, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.
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With the mixer on low, add the (2 sticks!) of melted butter, and continue to beat on low speed for a couple of minutes until smooth.
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With the mixer still on low, add the heavy cream and vanilla extract and continue to mix for 2 to 3 minutes.
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Finally, with the mixer still on low, add the egg yolks and beat until just combined.
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Divide the filling between the two pie crusts and spread to smooth.
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Place the two pies on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Then, lower the oven temperature to 325°F and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. The edges should be set and the center should still be jiggly.
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Remove from oven and cool to room temperature on a wire rack.
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Wrap the pies in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 3 hours, but better overnight. About an hour before serving, transfer the pie to the fridge to thaw for a bit. Dust with confectioners sugar and serve cold.
Enjoy!
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Crack Pie
Ingredients:
Oat Cookie
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Pie Crust
- Oat Cookie
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup milk powder
- 1/4 cup corn powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 egg yolks
Directions:
Oat Cookie
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, brown sugar, and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg yolk and continue beating until well-incorporated.
- On low speed, add the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and beat until dough comes together.
- Spread dough out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper until 1/4 inch thick.
- Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool before wrapping in plastic wrap and refrigerating.
Pie Crust
- In a food processor, pulse the oat cookie, brown sugar, and salt until it forms the texture of wet sand. Transfer crumb mixture into a large bowl.
- In the large bowl, add melted butter and mix with a wooden spoon until distributed.
- Divide mixture between two pie tins and press into bottoms and sides.
Filling
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the sugar, brown sugar, milk powder, corn powder, and salt.
- With the mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mixing on low speed, add the melted butter and mix for 1 to 2 minutes until everything is moistened.
- With the mixer still running on low speed, add the heavy cream and vanilla extract and mix for 2 to 3 minutes.
- With the mixer still running on low speed, add the egg yolks and beat until just combined.
- Divide the filling between the two pie crusts and spread to smooth.
Assembly
- Place the two pies on a baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 325°F and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, until edges are set and center is still a bit jiggly.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Wrap the pies in plastic wrap and freeze for at least three hours, preferably overnight.
- An hour before serving, transfer the pie to the fridge to thaw. Serve cold, dusted with confectioners sugar.