Milk Bar Crack Pie (Printable Version)
Chewy oat crust meets gooey caramel filling in this famously sweet American dessert
# What You’ll Need:
→ Oat Cookie Crust
01 - 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
02 - 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
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 salt
10 - 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (for crumb mixture)
→ Pie Filling
11 - 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
12 - 1 cup granulated sugar
13 - 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
14 - 1/4 cup dry milk powder
15 - 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
16 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
17 - 2 large egg yolks
18 - 1 large egg
19 - 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
20 - Powdered sugar, for dusting
# Directions:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
02 - Cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix well.
03 - Stir in oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined.
04 - Spread dough evenly onto prepared baking sheet in a thin rectangle. Bake for 15 minutes until golden. Allow to cool completely.
05 - Crumble cooled oat cookie into fine crumbs. Mix with 3 tablespoons melted butter to form moist mixture. Press evenly into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie pan.
06 - Lower oven temperature to 325°F.
07 - Whisk together melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, milk powder, flour, and salt. Add egg yolks, whole egg, and vanilla. Mix until just combined.
08 - Pour filling into prepared crust. Bake for 30-35 minutes until edges are set and center remains slightly wobbly.
09 - Cool completely on wire rack, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours (preferably overnight) before serving.
10 - Dust generously with powdered sugar before serving.
# Top Tips:
01 -
- The crust alone is worth the effort a chewy oat cookie base that somehow manages to be both crisp and tender
- That filling creates this impossibly gooey center while staying perfectly set around the edges
- Every bite hits you with salt then sweet then butter in this absolutely addictive sequence
02 -
- The filling will look terrifyingly liquid when you pour it in but this is exactly how it should be
- Overbaking even by 5 minutes will transform that gooey center into something firm and disappointing
- This pie genuinely needs that overnight chilling time to reach its full textural potential
03 -
- Use a kitchen scale if possible because precision with the sugar amounts makes a huge difference
- Do not attempt to shortcut the chilling step even if you are serving it the same day