Every once in awhile in the food blogger world there’s that recipe it feels like everyone is making. A few years ago it was all about No-Knead Bread and since then there have been many other recipes that have become popular among food bloggers. Within the past year or so, I’ve come across many blogs writing about Momofuku’s Crack Pie.
Ahhhh, Momofuku’s Crack Pie, the stuff dreams are made of. The pie is the brainchild of Christina Tosi, the pastry chef at one of my fave NYC spots, Momofuku Milk Bar. According to this LA Times article, Crack Pie is actually a take on a Joy of Cooking recipe for Chess Pie, which I’d also never had. Apparently the pie sells for $44, but you can buy a slice for $5.25. But come on, who doesn’t want to bring a pie to a dinner party with the word “crack” in the name?
I’ve had the recipe for Crack Pie bookmarked for months but never got around to making it. Literally, for no good reason. The ingredients are super simple. You pretty much just need a ton of butter and sugar. The other day I wanted to make a new dessert and I wanted it to be kind of fancy and I thought the time was upon me to make the Crack Pie. These days I’ve had such a hankering for “fancy” desserts, although my definition of “fancy” is constantly evolving. Macarons are no longer fancy enough for me. I usually want to try something in a tart form or even a cake since I rarely (if ever) make cakes.
When it comes to making the Crack Pie there a lot of steps but they don’t require much skill and are well worth it. Take the crust for example. This is no ordinary crust. Instead of just mixing together a bunch of ingredients and patting them into the pan, you make a giant oatmeal cookie, bake it, crumble it and throw it into the food processor with more butter and sugar. This is so much more fun than a regular crust. It’s like a graham cracker crust on… well, crack!
The filling is really just more butter and sugar. You know how recipes often tell you to salt each layer of ingredients as you add them? I feel like Tosi wants us to “season” every layer with more butter and sugar. It’s insane, but awesome. Oh! And the recipe involved milk powder which I ended up finding at Bulk Barn.
The Crack Pie kind of reminds me of a giant butter tart. But different. You have this crazy cookie crust filled with essentially just butter, sugar and eggs. Interestingly enough the pie is sweet but not shockingly sweet and there is actually some nice depth of flavour. It would be fun to add in some maple syrup if you want to take it in a different direction. The texture is not at all gooey and is more firm and “dry”. You can definitely cut the pie and the filling won’t lose its shape.
So, is the Crack Pie as addictive as everyone claims? Maybe not addictive, but it’s pretty darned good. I served this with some Mapleton’s Ginger ice cream and it was a great combination. The ginger really cut through some of the sweetness of the pie.
Here’s a link to the recipe from the LA Times. Do note that the recipe makes 2 pies, which I found excessive. Just halve everything for one pie, obvi.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
Good to know the pie is not over-the-top sweet. That’s what made me afraid to try it. I’ve always read it compared to pecan pie, which I find way too sweet. But I’ll take your word for it. Now, I’m itching to try it for sure.
I’ve made crack pie from one of the recipes floating out there. Loved it! Like you, I didn’t think it was addictive either. I’ve also had the real thing which was pretty tasty.
this looks wonderful
lovely site nice to meet a Torontonian
I haven’t decided if I want to make this yet. It seems like more work than I want to do for a pie that has no chocolate. I did make their candy bar pie, and that was a bunch of work, but really tasty!