Momofuku Milk Bar’s “Crack Pie”

For those of you who have never experienced Momofuku (literal meaning: “Lucky Peach”) in New York City, don’t miss out on it next time your in town. It’s one of my friend’s favorite restaurants (the restaurants are noodle bars but also serve lots of other goodies), so I inevitably stop there every time we spend time in Manhattan. And the only thing that’s better, really, than the noodle bar is their dessert shop — or, the Momofuku Milk Bar (fun fact: there’s also one in Toronto, along with six locations in New York).

Everything they serve is literally addictive. (Hence, the name “Crack Pie” for one of their bestselling pies). They sell cookies, cakes, pies, and fro-yo, all in unconventional but AWESOME flavor combinations — this is not your typical bakery! Christina Tosi, the brilliant chef/mastermind behind Milk Bar is definitely doing something right.

Milk Bar’s “Crack Pie” is difficult to describe: it is composed of an oat cookie crust and the filling is made with butter, brown sugar, and powdered milk — so it’s essentially a creamy, buttery filling, but doesn’t taste too caramelly. Take my word for it, though: it’s delicious, and very rich. It also stores well, aka it’s perfect for holidays. When I saw the recipe posted on Bon Appétit, I knew I had to try making it myself — and it was very easy! There’s a bit of wait time in the fridge (for the filling to firm up), but otherwise it’s a very simple and straightforward recipe with simple ingredients. Anyway, I’ve posted it below:

Ingredients

Oat Cookie Crust

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
• 5 1/2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar, divided
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt

Filling

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
• 6 1/2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar (for dusting)

Directions

Crust

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper; coat with nonstick spray. Combine 6 tablespoons butter, 4 tablespoons brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat mixture until light and fluffy, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl, about 2 minutes. Add egg; beat until pale and fluffy. Add oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and beat until well blended, about 1 minute. Turn oat mixture out onto prepared baking pan; press out evenly to edges of pan. Bake until light golden on top, 17 to 18 minutes. Transfer baking pan to rack and cool cookie completely.
2. Using hands, crumble oat cookie into large bowl; add 3 tablespoons butter and 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar. Rub in with fingertips until mixture is moist enough to stick together. Transfer cookie crust mixture to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Using fingers, press mixture evenly onto bottom and up sides of pie dish. Place pie dish with crust on rimmed baking sheet.

Filling

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Whisk both sugars, milk powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add melted butter and whisk until blended. Add cream, then egg yolks and vanilla and whisk until well blended. Pour filling into crust. Bake pie 30 minutes (filling may begin to bubble). Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Continue to bake pie until filling is brown in spots and set around edges but center still moves slightly when pie dish is gently shaken, about 20 minutes longer. Cool pie 2 hours in pie dish on rack. Chill uncovered overnight. Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; keep chilled.
2. Sift powdered sugar lightly over top of pie. Cut pie into wedges and serve cold.

Enjoy!