Anybody here ever heard of "Crack Pie"?

[housewolf]

This is a famed dessert from Momofuku Milk Bar chef, Christina Tosi, has been widely hyped as the most delicious and addictive sweet in NY.

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-crackpie11-2010feb11,0,3355019.story

It's a variation of a Chess Pie, something I've never had, and reportedly QUITE delicious. So good that the pie's sell for $44 in the shop AND the bakery mail-orders them! Reportedly, the bakery sells 60 - 90 of these pies every single day! Siimple butter, sugar, egg, cream, milk powder salt and vanilla filling baked in a shell made with a homemade oat cookie blended with a bit more butter, sugar and a healthy dash of salt. It's ooey-gooey. Buttery and rich. Silky. Pillowy. I'll wager that it's not like any pie you've ever had before because that salty-sweet-crunchy-oaty crust is as much a part of the pie as the filling itself.

CNN's Anderson Cooper had this to say about it:
"They have a pie that's called crack pie that is literally crack," Cooper said. "There is crack in that pie because once you have that pie, you can think of nothing else but having more of that crack pie. I sent it to my mom" (Gloria Vanderbilt) "My mom's now addicted to crack -- pie. And uh, yeah, seriously, my teeth are going to fall out. It's like doing crack. After a while of doing it your teeth will fall out."


Recipe (makes 2 pies):
http://thebostonfoodie.blogspot.com/2009/02/crack-pie.html

Video of Martha Stewart & Christine Tosi making the pie. Includes the ingredients in ounces.
http://www.eatmedaily.com/2009/01/martha-stewart-visits-momofuku-milk-bar-video/

I may have to make one of these soon...

[The empressof all]

1. That looks amazing

I'm definitely going to try this someday....Thanks.

[blue neen]

2. It sounds soooo good.

The recipe doesn't look difficult, just a little time consuming.

I think I'm going to give it a try! :)

[Duer 157099]

3. Holy cow that's alot of butter!

I wonder how they justify a $44 price tag?

I'm actually making it right now, didn't really look at the amounts of things but just made sure I had everything. So I'm going along (there are 3 steps basically) and the first time I go "hmmm, lots of butter..." and then I get to part 2 and I go "oh wow, lots MORE butter..." and then part 3 and oops! LOTS MORE butter!

Each pie ends up with a half pound (2 sticks) of butter, and a ton of sugar and 4 egg yolks.

EEK. I have no doubt it's going to taste good, but I'm terrified to even try it! I'm due to have my lipid panel tested and I'm wondering how long I should wait after eating this to have my blood drawn, lol.

[housewolf]

4. Be sure to let us know how it turns out for you

I can't wait to hear!

A picture would be appreciated, too, if you can....

What a great Valentine's gift for yourself and your family

[Duer 157099]

5. They are out and cooling

I swear, I'm afraid to taste it. It's like I have some illicit drug sitting on my counter or something.

My son asked me what they are and I didn't want to tell him what they're called, lol.

[Duer 157099]

8. I just posted below but have an additional comment

What this would really be super good as is a heated topping for vanilla ice cream.

It's just too rich by itself, imho. But the flavor is fantastic, of course. Brown sugar, butter and vanilla -- what could go wrong?

[DrDan]

6. in the oven now . . . but my dough did not look like the video - it was

just dripping butter.

But . . . will see here in a bit.

[Duer 157099]

7. By dough do you mean the cookie crust?

If so, that was done with softened butter, not melted. After the cookie is baked and cooled and then crumbled, then melted butter is added to make the crust.

I tasted mine last night before it was really cooled and OMG I nearly died from the richness. I tried again this morning after it had spent the night in the fridge and it had firmed up (of course, with all that butter what else could it do?) and was still as rich, naturally.

While it's good, it seems to me that it needs some more savory elements to balance it out. I would have liked more oats, or, what I think I'm going to do is to toast some pecans and chop them up and somehow incorporate them into a new iteration.

While I thought the term "crack" meant it's addictive potential, I now think it has more to do with how crack is linked to rotting teeth...

It sort of reminds me a a pecan pie without the nuts, and without the thickish texture of the filling. This is basically like a caramel pie with an oatmeal crust.

But, since I had recently seen Alton make that Shoo-fly pie and wanted to do that, this one has sort of dealt with that craving

I've never been as fearful of a food as I was about this, LOL. I think I'm afraid I'll trigger the onset of diabetes with just one bite!

[DrDan]

9. yes - I did use softened butter. I let the pies cool - but I could not resist

a bite before the cooling stage. Pecan pie - you hit it on the head.

I might try it again - but with a cookie crust without all that butter - like perhaps a graham cracker crust or an oreo crust - but I think that chocolate might be a bit over the top.

Now cooling - have a more substantial piect in a little bit after dinner.

[DrDan]

11. so my wife and I had a piece last night after it cooled - the first thing she said was

that it tasted like a pecan pie.

It was good . . . but I doubt I will lose any sleep awaiting my next piece.

[housewolf]

10. Yep, caramel pie - I made mine today, too

Well, a small one. I made the full crust recipe and used 1/4 of it in a half-size ceramic pie plate. Then I made 1/4 of the filling recipe - 1/3 would have fit better, I discovered after I got it all put together. Baked it, let it set for an hour or so and cut into it.

WOW!

That's about all I can say about it - WOW! This is a major sugar-butter hit, more so than pecan pie, I think. I think I would have liked something in the crust other than oats - pecans, maybe? Very delicious caramel flavor if you can handle the richness. I'd love to compare it to the original (but that $45 price tag just stops me in my tracks) :rofl:

I'll tell you one thing.... I don't need to eat this every day....

[housewolf]

12. Here's a link for Crack Pie "minis" - tart sized

Makes 8 - 10 5" little pies

http://momofukula.blogspot.com/2010/02/crack-pie-minis.html

[LisaM]

13. I just heard of this yesterday for the first time

I'm going to have to try it.

[housewolf]

14. Update from a blogger annotated with pictures

http://momofukufor2.com/2010/02/momofuku-milk-bar-crack-pie-recipe

It's the LA Times recipe. Not exactly step-by-step pictures, but the recipe and instructions are laid out well and many pictures are helpful.

Also pictures of her Crack Pie "Pops" - like Tassies on sticks - cute!





This blogger is cooking her way through the Momofuku cookbook. Her "Recipes" page contains a few other Momofuku recipes as well.

[hippywife]

15. I've yet to make this but

I have to say, I'm still sorely tempted. :D

[housewolf]

16. Do you like pecan pie filling?

If so, you might like this pie. Some people who don't like pecan pie filling don't like this pie either, and some say that it's just way too sweet for their tastes. It's different from pecan pie filling in that it doesn't contain corn syrup (and of course the crust is different, and no nuts), but it IS one of the sweetest, richest things I've ever eaten. And it gives me some ideas as to how to make a pecan pie without the corn syrup!

[hippywife]

17. I really don't like a lot of it.

My soon to be old boss makes pecan pie bars (and brings them to work sometimes)because she doesn't like as much of that glop under the nuts, either.

But this pie doesn't seem to look like that gloppy, gooey stuff. It looks more like the texture and consistency of say a buttermilk pie. Is that what it's like?

Nice to have you around a bit more lately, B. :hug:

[housewolf]

18. I've never had buttermilk pie

so I don't know. It's a take-off of a Chess Pie without the cornmeal so if you've ever had that, it could give you an idea. Or, you might have to just make a half-batch (1 pie) and give it a try! :-)

[hippywife]

19. Is it a creamier consistency

rather than overly sweet and gloppy?

[housewolf]

20. After you refrigerate it

it's somewhat firm, more firm than pecan pie filling. It's not like anything I've ever had before. It's not a soft, creamy filling - it's not like a mousse, nor like a pudding, nor like a whipping cream filling . It's not like anything I've ever had before as a dessert. More like the texture of a very soft piece of caramel. Not a caramel topping, but a very soft caramel (I'm probably stretching here, 'cause it's not exactly like that either, but I'm having trouble coming up with anything that it's similiar to). All the brown sugar gives it a darker color than pecan pie filling, and it's more firm once it's been refrigerated. Right out of the oven it's quite gooey. And it IS extraordinarly sweet - a little bit will do ya'.

There's a discussion about it over at Chowhound that I took part in if you're interested. Lots of differnt opinions stated there from folks who've either made it or had it from the bakery in NYC
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/687144

[hippywife]

21. Thanx, B.

I just finished reading it. Interesting comments. :)