Milk Bar Pie Recipe - AKA The Milk Crack Pie

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This Milk Pie is a delicious gooey sugar pie made with simple ingredients. Think of it as a large homemade oatmeal cookie with a salty sweet filling!

There is a slice of light brown pie that has a creamy filling and white powdered sugar sprinkled on the top of it. The slice of pie is on a white round plate. There is a fork with a wood handle with some pie on it resting on the plate. There is a gray cloth napkin and a pie pan in the background. Items are on a light gray surface.

Prep time – 30 minutes
Bake time – 35 minutes
Chill time – 3 hours
Total time – 4 hours + 5 minutes
Servings – 8 slices
Prep level – Beginner +

What You’ll Love

Irresistibly gooey texture – The filling is rich, gooey, and buttery, with a custard-like consistency that melts in your mouth
The oat cookie crust – A buttery oat crust with a nutty and slightly salty flavor.
Simple ingredients – Despite its gourmet reputation, most of the ingredients are panty staples: butter, sugar, oats, eggs, powdered milk, flour, cream, and vanilla.
Make-ahead friendly – Milk pie tastes better chilled and can be made days in advanced.

Milk Pie Ingredients

There are five white bowls. One has 4 raw egg yolks in it, one has white granulated sugar, one has brown sugar, one has light brown oat flakes , and one has white creamy milk in it. There are two wooden scoops. One scoop has white flour in it and the other has white powdered milk in it. There is a small wooden vessel with three carved indentations in it. There is white ground seasonings in each indentation. There is a brown egg, 2 sticks of butter, and a very small white bowl with brown liquid in it. Items are on a light gray surface.

Also known as (AKA) the crack pie, this copycat recipe was made famous by Christina Tosi of the Momofuku Milk Bar.

It is one of the most irresistible sweet treats anyone could ask for. It has just the right amount of sweet and salty.

There is a round pie pan with a baked oatmeal cookie crust with a yellow creamy custard mixture in it. The pie is sprinkled with white powdered sugar. There is a small mesh sifter in the background. Items are on a light gray surface.

3 Basic Steps To Making A Crack Pie

Make the oatmeal cookie crust

Prepare the filling

Bake the pie

Instructions

There is a large stainless steel bowl with white granulated sugar, brown sugar, and a few chunks of butter in it. There is a white mixer attachment hanging over the bowl. Bowl is on a light gray surface.

There is a large stainless steel bowl with a light brown creamy paste with a raw egg and a little bit of dark brown liquid on top of it.

Heat oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
Cream together until the mixture looks light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix until the sugar granules are dissolved.

There is a large stainless steel bowl with a light brown creamy paste, white flour, and light brown oat flakes in it.

There is a large stainless steel bowl with a pasty mixture of sugar, egg, flour and oat flakes in it.

Reduce the mixer speed, and add the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Mix just until the dry ingredients are fully incorporated.

There is a dark baking sheet lined with white paper. There is a baked flattened layer of pasty mixture consisting of sugar, egg, flour and oat flakes on it. Pan is on a light gray surface.

There is a dark baking sheet lined with white paper. There is a baked flattened layer of oatmeal cookie dough on it. Pan is on a light gray surface.

Spoon the mixture onto your parchment lined cookie sheet and flatten it out with your fingers into a thin layer. (see Tips) Don’t worry about how it looks, it can be irregular.
Bake until golden brown at the edges and set in the middle. (seeTips) Remove the large oatmeal cookie from the oven and place it on a cooling rack.

While the oatmeal cookie crust cools make the pie filling

There is a large stainless steel bowl with a mixture of flour and sugar in it. There is melted butter poured over the mixture. There is a small white bowl in the background. Items are on a light gray surface.

There is a large stainless steel bowl with a mixture of flour, sugar and melted butter in it. There are two small white bowls next to the stainless steel bowl. One has white creamy milk in it and the other bowl has dark brown liquid in it. Items are on a light gray surface.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, milk powder, and salt until fully incorporated. Add the melted butter and mix until all ingredients are blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Pour in the vanilla extract and heavy cream. Mix ingredients until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

There is a large stainless steel bowl with a creamy yellow mixture in it. There is a small white bowl with four egg yolks in it next to the stainless steel bowl. Items are on a light gray surface.

There is a large stainless steel bowl with a creamy light yellow mixture in it. The bowl is on a light gray surface.

Slowly add the egg yolks one at a time. Mix this until the egg mixture looks glossy and has a creamy texture. Set aside.

Oatmeal Crust

There is a large clear plastic bowl with broken oatmeal cookies in it. The bowl is on top of a food processor. Food processor is on a light gray surface.

There is a large clear plastic bowl with broken oatmeal cookies, brown sugar, and chunks of butter in it. The bowl is on top of a food processor. Food processor is on a light gray surface.

When the cookie is completely cool, break it into pieces and place them in the bowl of a food processor. (see FAQ’s)
Add the remaining brown sugar and the remaining softened butter. Pulse until the mixture is broken down into crumbs and is moist enough to form into a ball.

There is a round pie pan with an oatmeal cookie crust with a yellow creamy custard mixture in it. The pie pan is resting on a large dark brown rectangular flat baking pan.

There is a round pie pan with a baked oatmeal cookie crust with a yellow creamy custard mixture in it. The pie pan is resting on a large dark brown rectangular flat baking pan.

Press the cookie crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pie dish.
Place the pie tin on a baking sheet and pour the buttery filling into the pie crust.
Carefully transfer the baking sheet with the pie on it to the middle rack of the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature. Leaving the pie undisturbed, open the oven door a little bit to let the oven’s temperature lower quicker. Close the oven door and continue baking.
Using oven mitts, carefully remove the pie from the oven and transfer the pie to a wire rack. Let the pie cool to room temperature.
Wrap the pie with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and chill in freezer. Freezing a milk bar pie helps the gooey filling to set and congeal. Once the pie is set, allow it to thaw in the refrigerator for about an hour. Serve pie chilled with your favorite topping.

See recipe card below for complete measurements and baking time.

Laura Belle’s Tips

If the pie dough is sticking to your fingers, wet them with a little water and continue to evenly press out the dough evenly to 1/4″ thickness.
Oven temperatures vary. Keep an eye on the oatmeal cookie crust while it bakes. The edges should be slightly crisp and the top a nice golden brown color. Baking time is about 12 to 15 minutes.

More Delicious Sweet Treats

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a food processor to make the oatmeal cookie crust?

No, you do not need a food processor to make the crust. After the pie crust has cooled, break it up into smaller pieces and place them into a zip top plastic bag.
Use a rolling pin or the palm of you hand and smash the crust into crumbs. Pour the crumbs in to a mixing bowl, add the remaining brown sugar and softened butter. Throughly mix ingredients together.

Why would you use powdered milk?

Powdered milk is a staple for many chefs.
Powdered milk adds thickness and nutrients to many everyday dishes like mashed potatoes, custards, and gravies.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings