Home
Crack Pie
The estimated reading time is 6 minutes

Crack Pie

Crack Pie

This website may contain affiliate links and advertising so that we can provide recipes to you. Read my disclosure policy.

Delicious and addicting, the famous Crack Pie is what made New York City’s Milk Bar bakery so popular. This copycat recipe is made with a sweet and salty filling tucked inside a crispy oat cookie crust. It’s so good you won’t be able to stop eating it!

Angle shot of a slice of crack pie with a bite on a fork.

Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe

  • Sweet and Salty: If you love a good sweet and salty treat, like my Christmas Crack, this crack pie is a must!
  • Irresistible Texture: The crunchy oat cookie crust paired with the gooey custard filling is so mouthwatering!
  • Make Ahead: This dessert is convenient to make ahead of a party or potluck because it needs time to chill in the fridge!
  • Something Special for the Holidays: This will be everyone’s favorite dessert, and it’s such a fun alternative to your normal apple or pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. (I do love an amazing apple pie, though!)

What’s in a Milk Bar Crack Pie?

This crack pie recipe is comprised of three components: the oatmeal cookie, the pie crust (which uses the oatmeal cookie), and the pie filling. It takes a little extra time to make the oatmeal cookie for the crust, but the tasty results are so worth it. All of the exact ingredient measurements are listed in the recipe card at the bottom.

Oatmeal Cookie

  • Unsalted Butter: Adds richness to the cookie dough. Salted will also work. Just adjust the amount of added salt you use.
  • Sugars: A mix of brown and granulated sugar adds classic sweetness and a rich, complex taste.
  • Egg: Binds the cookie ingredients.
  • Old Fashioned Oats: For hearty texture.
  • Flour: All-purpose flour gives the cookie a tender structure.
  • Baking Staples: Combining baking powder and baking soda will ensure the cookie bakes properly and has plenty of rise.
  • Salt: To enhance the flavor.
Overhead shot of labeled oatmeal cookie ingredients.

Crust

  • Oatmeal Cookie: This crust is similar to a graham cracker crust, but instead of graham crackers, you’ll use oatmeal cookie crumbs.
  • Brown Sugar: To perfectly sweeten the crust.
  • Butter: Melted unsalted butter adds buttery flavor and binds the cookie crumbs and sugar together.
Overhead shot of labeled crust ingredients.

Filling

  • Sugars: Use both granulated and brown sugar for extra sweetness.
  • Milk Powder: Adds texture and ensures the perfect thickness.
  • Butter: Adds rich flavor.
  • Heavy Cream: Provides wonderful richness in the gooey filling.
  • Egg Yolks: Gives the filling a custard-like texture.
  • Vanilla Extract: A classic dessert ingredient that adds extra warmth to the filling.
Overhead shot of labeled filling ingredients.

How to Make Momofuku Milk Bar Crack Pie

This recipe requires a little planning—you’ll make the cookie for the crust, bake it, let it cool, and chill the pie—but once you take a bite, you’ll be obsessed! The results are beyond amazing, and despite several steps, the recipe is straightforward.

  1. Beat: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the butter, brown sugar, and sugar to a large bowl and beat with a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
  2. Mix: Add the egg and beat until combined. Add the oats, flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda and mix until combined.
  3. Form: Spread the cookie dough on the prepared baking sheet until it is a large rectangle that is ¼-inch thick.
  4. Bake: Place in oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, until the edges are darker brown and the top of the entire cookie is lightly golden brown. Let it cool completely.
Overhead shot of butter mixture with oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt on top.
Overhead shot of cookie dough mixed in a bowl.
Overhead shot of oatmeal cookie dough smashed into a rectangle on parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
Overhead shot of baked rectangular oatmeal cookie slab.

Crust

  1. Break the Cookie: Break the cooled oatmeal cookie into pieces and put it in a blender or food processor.
  2. Make Cookie Crumbs: Pulse until the cookie has turned to fine crumbs. I found it easier to do this in 3-4 batches, rather than all at once.
  3. Mix: Add the cookie crumbs to a medium bowl and add the brown sugar and butter. Mix until all the crumbs are moistened and the mixture resembles wet sand.
  4. Press: Use your fingers or measuring cup to press the crust evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie dish. Set aside.
Overhead shot of oatmeal cookie chunks in a blender.
Overhead shot of oatmeal cookie crumbs in a blender.
Overhead shot of crust ingredients mixed in a glass bowl.
Overhead shot of crust ingredients smashed into a crust shape in a pie pan.

Filling

  1. Whisk: Add the sugar, brown sugar, and milk powder to a large bowl and whisk until combined.
  2. Beat: Add the melted butter and use a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment to beat it until combined.
  3. Combine: Add the cream and vanilla and mix until combined.
  4. Beat: Beat in the egg yolks until fully combined.
  5. Bake: Add the filling to the crust and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. Lower the heat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and finish baking the pie for 20-22 minutes, until the edges have set but the center still has a little wobble to it. Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool to room temperature. Then, chill the crack pie in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.
Overhead shot of sugars and milk powder in a glass bowl.
Overhead shot of sugar mixture and melted butter in a bowl.
Overhead shot of the sugar and butter mixture with cream and vanilla.
Overhead shot of crack pie filling with egg yolks in a glass bowl.
Overhead shot of crack pie filling in the oatmeal crumb crust in a pie pan.

Copycat Crack Pie Tips and Variations

Milk Bar pie is so easy to get right. But here are a few of my top tips so it turns out perfect every time you make it!

  • Can you use store-bought oatmeal cookies instead? It’s not recommended to use them, but if you have to, choose cookies that don’t have nuts, raisins, or icing on them. Pulse the cookies in a food processor or blender until they become fine crumbs. You will need about 1 ½ cups of oatmeal cookie crumbs.
  • Don’t skip the milk powder! This is an icon ingredient that sets this pie apart. It gives the filling the distinct malty flavor of the original Milk Bar Crack pie.
  • When Done: Give the pie pan a jiggle in the oven to test the doneness. If the edges don’t move, but the center still moves just a touch, then it’s ready! If the whole filling wobbles like it’s very liquid, it needs more time.
  • Using Corn Powder: While I didn’t add this to my recipe, Christina Tosi, the chef who created crack pie, uses about ¼ cup of corn powder in the original crack pie recipe. Corn powder is different from cornstarch or cornmeal! It’s freeze-dried corn kernels that have been blended into a very fine powder. You can purchase Chef Tosi’s milk bar corn powder online, or any other brand of corn powder will work if you want to add it to the recipe! There are no adjustments for this addition.

Overhead shot of baked crack pie with a dusting of powdered sugar over the top.

Storing Leftover Crack Pie

  • In the Refrigerator: Store crack pie covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
  • In the Freezer: You can freeze crack pie for up to 3 months. Let it chill in the refrigerator for 8 hours before wrapping it tightly with a few layers of plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil. To thaw, let it sit in the refrigerator overnight before serving the chilled pie.
  • Make Ahead: The crust can be prepared up to 2 days in advance, but the filling should be baked as soon as it is made.

Angle shot of a slice cut out of the crack pie.

More Pie Recipes

With the holiday season ramping up, here are a few of my favorite pies to share with friends and family! You can never go wrong with a sweet homemade pie for dessert. Whether you’re craving fruity, nutty, or chocolatey, there’s something for everyone! Or browse all of my pie recipes!