little kitchie: crack pie

y'all.

it's time to add a new pie to your holiday line up - this pie is insane. when i came across the recipe for milk bar's famous crack pie, i was giddy. this pie tastes like buttermilk pie (my favorite) meets gooey butter cake (another favorite. hi whit!) with a crust that is basically an enormous oatmeal cookie. my heart be still.

the original recipe suggests making the pie then chilling it overnight before eating it. but i'm impatient! and i wanted pie! so i chilled it for a whole lot less time, and everything was disaster-free and delicious.

don't do crack. but do make this pie.

milk bar's crack pie
10-12 servings

for the crust, you'll need:
cooking spray
9 tblspn. (1 stick plus 1 tblspn.) unsalted butter, softened
5 1/2 tblspn. brown sugar, divided
2 tblspn. sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup plus 2 tblspn. old fashioned oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

for the filling, you'll need:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tblpn. nonfat dry milk powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

6 1/2 tblspn. heavy whipping cream
4 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract
powdered sugar (optional, for dusting)

preheat oven to 350. spray a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray. combine 6 tblspn. butter, 4 tblspn. brown sugar, and 2 tblspn. sugar in a medium bowl. using an electric mixer, beat mixture until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. add egg and beat until combined. add oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and beat about 1 minute.

turn oat mixture out onto prepared baking dish. press evenly to the edges of the pan. bake until light golden on top, 17-18 minutes. cool completely.

once cooled, use your hands to crumble the enormous oatmeal cookie into a large bowl. add 3 tblspn. butter and 1 1/2 tblspn. brown sugar. rub in with your hands until the mixture is moist enough to stick together. transfer cookie crust mixture to a 9-inch pie dish and press evenly onto bottom and up sides, forming a pie crust. place pie dish onto a rimmed baking sheet.

now, for the filling! (make sure your oven is still at 350! you'll need it again in a minute.) whisk both sugars, milk powder, and salt in a medium bowl. add melted butter and mix until blended. add cream, egg yolks, and vanilla and whisk until completely blended. pour filling into crust.

bake pie for 30 minutes at 350. reduce oven to 325 and bake for 20 more minutes. cool pie 2 hours on cooling rack or countertop. chill in refrigerator uncovered for minimum 3 more hours; up to overnight if you're more self-controlled than i am. (you can also make this up to 2 days in advance; if doing so, keep covered in refrigerator.)