An Addictive Pie

Last weekend we celebrated my brother Stuart's birthday. He is a non-traditionalist and doesn't really like cake and loves things with custard in them so I decided to try this pie recipe out that I found in my Bon Apetit magazine a month or two ago. I had heard of this pie from my husband Paul who saw it online as part of a Martha Stewart Show segment. This pie is a customer favorite at Momofuko Milk Bar in NYC. Apparently it is so addicting that it is called "crack pie." I can agree with this assessment however it is very, very rich so I can see having it maybe 1-2 times a year for a special occasion.

It is much like a pecan pie without the nuts and with a cookie crust.

I really, really enjoyed this pie along with my family and can imagine it with other cookie crust flavors including coconut and chocolate crusts. The only thing that turned out differently with my pie is that I didn't have time to let it set up overnight in the fridge so it was a bit runny- but that made it all the more rich and yummy! Enjoy!

Ooey Gooey Rich Pie- or Crack Pie: 10-12 small servings

Oat Cookie Crust:

nonstick vegetable oil spray
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
5 1/2 tablespoons golden brown sugar, divided
2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons old fashioned oats
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Pie Filling:

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

powdered sugar for dusting

Oat Cookie Crust:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 13x9x2 inch baking pan with parchment paper and then spray with nonstick spray. (I didn't have the metal pan that the recipe called for so I used a glass one). Combine 6 tablespoons butter, 4 tablespoons brown sugar and 2 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat mixture until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl from time to time- about 2 minutes. Then, add the egg and beat until pale and fluffy. Ad the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and beat until the mixture is well blended- about 1 minute. Turn oat mixture into the prepared pan. I found that the mixture is very sticky- so spread it out into the pan so it is as flat as possible, but you may not be able to get it to the edges. Bake until it is golden brown on top- about 17 to 18 minutes. Cool the mixture completely on a wire rack. I ended up putting the pan in the freezer for a few minutes to cool it down because I was running short on time and need to finish up the recipe.

Crumble the oat cookie mixture into a large bowl; add 3 tablespoons butter and 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar. Rub the mixture together with your fingers until it sticks together. Transfer this mixture into a 9 inch pie dish. Press mixture evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the dish. Place the dish on a rimmed baking sheet.

Filling:

Put the oven rack into the center of the oven and preheat it to 350F. Whisk together both sugars, milk powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter and blend together. Add cream, then egg yolks and vanilla- mix until well blended. Pour the filling mixture into the pie crust. Bake the pie for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325F and bake for another 20 minutes. Watch the pie during this stage because my crust over browned just slightly. It may have only needed to bake 15 minutes. The filling will be set around the edges but move just slightly in the center.

Cool the pie for 2 hours on a wire rack and overnight in the fridge. I didn't have time to cool the pie for so long- so it only cooled in the fridge for around 2 hours so the filling was still runny- but it was really delicious that way too!

Enjoy a slice of this amazing pie! Below is a picture of a slice of it with the runny, caramel filling. It was amazing!