Happy Pi Day – Copycat Momofuku Milk Bar Pie
I said I would do it – and here it is – Christina Tosi’s Milk Bar Pie! A few weeks back I attempted her Birthday Cake-with success luckily (phew!). This time I stuck pretty close to her recipe, though I did leave off a couple things I didn’t have at home already – and it turned out just right! This pie is pretty similar to a Southern Chess Pie. Again, be warned this is a very sweet dessert – so make it if you have a big sweet tooth or for friends who do!
What You’ll Need. . .
Butter,
light brown and granulated sugars
egg
rolled oats
baking powder
baking soda
salt
For the Filling:
Light brown and granulated sugars
cornstarch
salt
butter
milk
heavy cream
egg yolks
vanilla extract
powdered sugar (optional)
Preheat your oven to 350F. Butter (or use pam) on a quarter sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Combine 6 tbsp of the butter with 4 tbsp of the brown sugar and all the granulated sugar in your stand mixer until smooth and fluffy. Add egg and continue mixing and scraping down sides. Next add in the rest of the dry ingredients (except the leftover brown sugar) and mix until well combined. Turn this dough onto the pan and spread it out evenly. It won’t reach the edges but that’s ok! Next pop it in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown in color on top, resembling an oatmeal cookie. Slightly puffed in the middle is ok. Take out and let cool completely.
Once the cookie has cooled, break it up with your hands and add in the remaining 2 tbsp brown sugar and 5 tbsp melted butter. Once it comes together, use your fingers and palm of your hands to make it into a pie shell in the 9-inch store bought disposable pie tins (this is actually important, because most pie dishes are a little too large for this and the cookie crust doesn’t stick as well as it will to this). Once this is ready, move on to make the filling of your pie.
To make the filling, preheat your oven to 350F. Combine the first four ingredients in your stand mixer and mix well. Next add in the milk, (cooled) melted butter, and heavy cream, and mix well. Lastly add in the egg yolks and vanilla extract and mix well. Pour this filling into your prepared pie shell.
Bake for 15 minutes at 350F. Once you see some bubbles, you can turn the oven down to 325F. and bake an additional 10-20 minutes, until you see the edges do not jiggle and the middle does jiggle, but has some spots of brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for two hours. If your filling looks puffed a bit, that’s ok – it will come down once it cools. The pie will still be jiggly in the middle so be sure to refrigerate it overnight. It’s ready to eat the next morning! Feel free to decorate the top with powdered sugar by passing the sugar through a fine sieve.
Happy Pi Day! Enjoy!
Some Notes . . .
- The original recipe calls for dry milk powder and corn powder. I didn’t have those. I couldn’t find corn powder in the store, and the dry milk powder came in a huge package – which I knew I wasn’t going to use again – so I just left these ingredients out completely, and used corn starch and milk instead. It’s totally different ingredient-wise – but taste and texture wise it was still great!
If you liked this recipe, you might want to try. . .
Tried this Recipe?
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Momofuku Copycat Milk Bar Pie
Ingredients
Oat Cookie Crust
- unsalted butter 6 tbsp + 5 tbsp, divided
- light brown sugar 4 tbsp + 2 tbsp, divided
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
- ⅛ tsp baking powder
- ⅛ tsp baking soda
- ⅛ tsp salt
Pie Filling
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tbsp cornstarch
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup melted butter
- ½ tbsp milk
- 6 tbsp heavy cream
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar for sprinkling on top
Instructions
Oat Cookie Crust
- Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a quarter sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
- Combine 6 tbsp of the butter with 4 tbsp of the brown sugar and all the granulated sugar in your stand mixer until smooth and fluffy. Add egg and continue mixing and scraping down sides.
- Add in the oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt (leave out the leftover brown sugar) and mix until well combined.
- Turn this dough onto the pan and spread it out evenly. It won’t reach the edges but that’s ok! Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown in color on top, resembling an oatmeal cookie. Slightly puffed in the middle is okay. Take out and let cool completely.
- Once the cookie has cooled, break it up with your clean hands and add in the remaining 2 tbsp brown sugar and 5 tbsp melted butter. Once it comes together, use your fingers and palm of your hands to make it into a pie shell in a 9-inch store bought disposable pie tin. Set aside.
Pie Filling
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Combine the light brown and granulated sugars, corn starch, and salt in your stand mixer and mix well.
- Next add in the milk, (cooled) melted butter, and heavy cream, and mix. Lastly add in the egg yolks and vanilla extract and mix well. Pour this filling into your prepared pie shell.
- Bake for 15 minutes at 350F. Once you see some bubbles on top, you can turn the oven down to 325F. and bake an additional 10-20 minutes, until you see the edges do not jiggle and the middle does jiggle, but has some spots of brown.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for two hours. If your filling looks puffed a bit, that’s okay – it will come down once it cools. The pie will still be jiggly in the middle so be sure to refrigerate it overnight. It’s ready to eat the next morning!
- Decorate the top with powdered sugar by passing the sugar through a fine sieve.
Notes
- It's actually important to use the 9 inch disposable store pie dish, since most pie dishes are a little too large for this crust, and the cookie doesn’t stick as well to other dishes as it will to this kind.