Milk Bar Crack Pie (Printable)
Chewy oat crust topped with a lusciously gooey, salted butter filling—an addictive American dessert.
# What You Need:
→ Oat Cookie Crust
01 - 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
02 - 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
03 - 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
04 - 1 large egg
05 - 1 cup rolled oats
06 - 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
07 - 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
08 - 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
09 - 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
→ Crust Assembly
10 - 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
11 - 1 1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar
12 - 1/8 teaspoon salt
→ Filling
13 - 3/4 cup granulated sugar
14 - 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
15 - 1/4 cup dry milk powder
16 - 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
17 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
18 - 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
19 - 6 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream
20 - 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
21 - 8 large egg yolks
# How-To:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
02 - In a mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth and well blended. Beat in the egg until fully incorporated. Add the rolled oats, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, mixing until just combined.
03 - Spread the batter evenly across the prepared baking sheet in a thin, uniform layer. Bake for 15 minutes or until the surface is golden brown. Allow to cool completely on the pan.
04 - Break the cooled oat cookie into pieces and transfer to a food processor. Pulse until fine crumbs form. Add the melted butter, brown sugar, and salt, then pulse until the mixture holds together when pressed between your fingers.
05 - Press the crumb mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie dish. Place the assembled crust on a baking sheet and set aside.
06 - Lower the oven temperature to 325°F to prepare for baking the filled pie.
07 - In a large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, milk powder, all-purpose flour, and salt until evenly distributed.
08 - Pour in the melted butter and mix until the mixture is uniform. Add the heavy cream and vanilla extract, whisking until smooth and fully incorporated.
09 - Gently whisk in the egg yolks until just combined. Take care not to overmix, as incorporating excess air will cause the filling to puff and crack during baking.
10 - Pour the filling into the prepared crust. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the edges are set but the center still has a slight wobble when gently shaken.
11 - Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or ideally overnight, to achieve clean, firm slices.
12 - Dust the surface with powdered sugar just before serving. Slice with a hot knife for the cleanest portions.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The oat cookie crust is essentially permission to eat cookies and pie at the same time, which is the kind of loophole nobody should question.
- That gooey center sets into something between custard and candy, and a single slice will ruin you for ordinary pie forever.
02 -
- That center wobble is not underbaking, it is the entire point, and pulling the pie early will give you the signature gooey texture while overbaking turns it into a sad custard.
- Separating eight yolks feels tedious but using even one whole egg white by accident will make the filling puff up and collapse into a wrinkled mess.
03 -
- If your oat cookie bakes unevenly with darker edges, just break those crispy bits off before crumbling because slightly overbaked pieces will make the crust taste bitter.
- Milk powder might seem like an odd ingredient but it is the single thing that makes this taste like the real Milk Bar pie, so never skip it.