In celebration of Pi Day (3/14) we’re teaching you how to make the epic Milk Bar Crack Pie recipe! Let’s discuss.
You’ve heard of Milk Bar’s crack pie, right? It’s the famous dessert developed by genius chef Christina Tosi (recipe now available in the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook!). I’m not kidding, the woman is on another level. This Crack Pie recipe — as with most of her creations — has so many different components that the average person (or chef!) would never dream about pairing together. And yet the results are flawless, flavor-filled show stoppers that our world is certainly better off having experienced. In other words, you need this recipe in your life!
Perhaps you’ve already tried it off the Milk Bar menu? One bite and you’ll see what all the fuss is about — making this pie from scratch should be your only goal for the day.
Since the original publication of this post, Milk Bar has released a statement changing the name of Milk Bar Crack Pie to Milk Bar Pie. Yep, they’re on and the same, with an oatmeal cookie crust and an ooey, gooey center filling. We’re sticking with the old name, cause that’s how we have always referred to it.

What is Crack Pie?
Milk Bar’s Crack Pie is the culmination of two unique recipes being married together. The oat cookie crust is the star of the show. It’s buttery, salty! (thank god for a pastry chef who doesn’t shy away from salt!), chewy, and should henceforth be used as the base for all pies. Agree? AGREE.
The second component is a bit more laborious. However, what is Milk Bar Crack Pie if not for its infamous gooey, luscious filling? If you’re reading through the ingredient list, you’re possibly scratching your head at the addition of corn powder. It’s exactly what it sounds like: freeze dried corn that’s been pulverized into powder. And you can pick up your very own bottle at your local Milk Bar store or order online.

What’s in Crack Pie?
To make Christina Tosi’s Crack Pie recipe, you’ll need quite a few ingredients. (Don’t say I didn’t warn you!). The oat cookie crust is made with rolled oats, butter, light brown sugar and granulated sugar, egg yolk, all-purpose flour, baking soda and baking powder, and salt.
The addicting Crack Pie filling uses brown sugar and granulated sugar, milk powder, corn powder, butter, heavy cream, vanilla extract, kosher salt, and lots of egg yolks. A light and refreshing treat, right?
Side note: one of the perks of having my husband work in New York City is that any time I have a craving — Doughnut Plant? Daily Provisions? Murray’s Bagels? — or am in need of a special ingredient, I politely ask (read: guilt him) to make a special trip and bring home the goods.
Thanks, hubs, for your contribution to our anniversary dessert! You worked really hard!

How to make Milk Bar’s Crack Pie
There is definitely a bit of skill required to pull this together, but Christina Tosi provides incredible detail in her instructions, along with tips and tricks, to make your Crack Pie endeavor a successful one. For real people, you can do this.
Here’s the basic rundown of how to make Momofuku’s Crack Pie from scratch:
- Make a batch of oat cookie dough, then spread it out on a baking sheet and bake.
- Once baked and cooled, add the massive oat cookie to a food processor along with some brown sugar and salt. Process until it resembles sand.
- Stir the cookie mixture and melted butter together. It should be wet enough to form a ball.
- Divide the oat cookie crust between two pie plates (we use and love this pie dish!) and press down to shape it.
- Then, make the Crack Pie filling.
- Divide the filling between the two pie crusts.
- Bake the Crack Pies (read through the instructions below for the special way to do this).
- Let the pies cool to room temperature, then freeze them for 3 hours.
- Pop the frozen pies into the fridge for 1 hour before slicing and serving.
You did it — mission accomplished!!

Absolutely not! The oat cookie crust is what makes this pie, in my opinion. Making it from scratch is the right decision, trust us.
Do I have to freeze the pie before refrigerating it?
Sorry pal, but you must freeze the pies before refrigerating them. Freezing the Crack Pie filling helps it condense and makes for a super gooey, dense pie.

Tips for making Milk Bar’s Crack Pie
Don’t try substituting any of the ingredients in this Crack Pie recipe. You need all the ingredients listed below to make an authentic Momofuku Crack Pie.
If you couldn’t already tell from the instructions for this recipe, Crack Pie takes a long ass time to make. Give yourself plenty of time to prep the crust and filling, bake it off, then freeze it.
And if you’re going to make Milk Bar’s crack pie recipe, make sure you have someone extra special lined up to share it with. I’m so grateful I have my forever and always, food-loving partner in crime wrapped around my arms. Life would be so much less wonderful without you stealing food from off my plate.
If you make this Milk Bar Crack Pie, please let me know by leaving a review below! Let each buttery slice bring happiness to your life!
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For other crowd pleasing desserts, check out the following recipes:
- Chocolate raspberry rugelach
- Creamy dulce de leche cheesecake with chocolate chip cookie crust
- Flourless chocolate cake
- Cannoli cream parfaits
- Tiramisu cream puffs
- Magnolia banana pudding
- Chocolate bourbon pecan pie
- Italian rainbow cookies
Milk Bar’s Famous Crack Pie (with Oatmeal Crust)
Ingredients
For the pies (makes 2 [10-inch] pies):
- 1 recipe oat cookie recipe follows
- 15 g 1 Tbsp tightly packed light brown sugar
- 1 g ¼ tsp salt
- 55 g 4 Tbsp butter melted, or as needed
- 1 recipe crack pie® filling recipe follows
- confectioner's sugar for dusting
For the oat cookie recipe (makes about 1 quarter sheet pan):
- 115 g unsalted butter 8 Tbsp, at room temperature
- 70 g tightly packed light brown sugar ½ cup
- 40 g granulated sugar 3 Tbsp
- 1 egg yolk
- 80 g flour ½ cup
- 120 g old-fashioned rolled oats 1 ½ cups
- 0.5 g baking powder ⅛ tsp
- 0.25 g pinch baking soda
- 2 g Kosher salt ½ tsp
- pam or other nonstick cooking spray optional
For the crack pie filling (makes enough for 2 pies):
- 300 g granulated sugar 1 ½ cups
- 180 g tightly packed light brown sugar ¾ cup
- 20 g milk powder ¼ cup
- 24 g corn powder ¼ cup
- 6 g Kosher salt 1½ tsp
- 225 g unsalted butter 16 Tbsp, melted
- 160 g heavy cream ¾ cup
- 2 g pure vanilla extract ½ tsp
- 8 egg yolks**
Instructions
For the pies
- Combine the pat cookie and sugar. Preheat an oven to 350F. Put the oat cookie, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, and ¼ tsp salt in a food processor, then pulse on and off until the cookie is broken down into the texture of wet sand.
- Make the crust. Transfer the crumbs to a bowl, add 4 Tbsp melted butter, and knead the butter and ground cookie mixture until moist enough to form into a ball. If it is not moist enough to do so, melt an additional 14 to 25g (1 to 1½ tablespoons) of butter and knead it in.
- Form the crust. Divide the oat crust evenly between 2 (10-inch) pie tins. Using your fingers and the palms of your hands, press the oat cookie crust firmly into each pie pan, making sure the bottom and sides of the tin are evenly covered. Use the pie shells immediately, or wrap well in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- Bake the Milk Bar pie. Put both pie shells on a sheet pan. Divide the crack pie® filling evenly between the crusts; the filling should fill them three-quarters of the way full. Bake for 15 minutes only. The pies should be golden brown on top but will still be very jiggly.
- Cool slightly, then continue baking till set. Open the oven door and reduce the oven temperature to 325F. Depending on your oven, it may take 5 minutes or longer for the oven to cool to the new temperature. Keep the pies in the oven during this process. When the oven reaches 325F, close the door and bake the pies for 5 minutes longer. The pies should still be jiggly in the bull’s-eye center but not around the outer edges. If the filling is still too jiggly, leave the pies in the oven for an additional 5 minutes or so.
- Freeze the pies before serving. Gently take the pan of crack pies® out of the oven and transfer to a rack to cool to room temperature. (You can speed up the cooling process by carefully transferring the pies to the fridge or freezer if you’re in a hurry.) Then freeze your pies for at least 3 hours, or overnight, to condense the filling for a dense final product—freezing is the signature technique and result of a perfectly executed crack pie®.
- Dust with powdered sugar, then serve. Serve your crack pie® cold! Decorate your pie(s) with confectioners’ sugar, either passing it through a fine sieve or dispatching pinches with your fingers.
For the Oat Cookie recipe
- Cream together butter, sugar, and egg. Preheat the oven to 350F. Combine the 115g butter, 70g brown sugar, and 40g granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes, until fluffy and pale yellow in color. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. On low speed, add the egg yolk and increase the speed to medium high and beat for 1 to 2 minutes, until the sugar granules fully dissolve and the mixture is a pale white.
- Make the cookie dough. On low speed, add the 80g flour, 120g oats, ½g baking powder, ¼g baking soda, and 2g salt. Mix for 1 minute, until your dough comes together and any remnants of dry ingredients have been incorporated. The dough will be a slightly fluffy, fatty mixture in comparison to your average cookie dough. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Spread out the cookie dough. Spray a quarter sheet pan and line with parchment. Plop the cookie dough in the center of the pan and, with a spatula, spread it out until it is 1/4 inch thick. The dough won’t end up covering the entire pan; this is ok.
- Bake the oat cookie crust. Bake for 15 minutes, or until it resembles an oatmeal cookie-caramelized on top and puffed slightly but set firmly. Cool completely before using. Wrapped well in plastic, the oat cookie will keep fresh in the fridge for up to 1 week.
For the Crack Pie Filling
- From Christina Tosi: "You must use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment to make this filling. It only takes a minute, but it makes all the difference in the homogenization and smooth, silky final product. I repeat: a hand whisk and a bowl or a granny hand mixer will not produce the same results. Also, keep the mixer on low speed through the entire mixing process. If you try to mix the filling on higher speed, you will incorporate too much air and your pie will not be dense and gooey-the essence of crack pie®."
- Mix the dry ingredients. Combine 300g granulated sugar, 180g brown sugar, 20g milk powder, 24g corn powder, and 6g Kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed until evenly blended.
- Add the wet ingredients. Add 225g melted butter and paddle for 2 to 3 minutes until all the dry ingredients are moist. Add 160g heavy cream and 2g vanilla and continue mixing on low for 2 to 3 minutes until any white streaks from the cream have completely disappeared into the mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
- Add egg yolks. Add 8 egg yolks, paddling them into the mixture just to combine; be careful not to aerate the mixture, but be certain the mixture is glossy and homogenous. Mix on low speed until it is. Use the filling right away, or store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Storage: If not serving the pies right away, wrap well in plastic wrap. In the fridge, they will keep fresh for 5 days.
- Freeze: Milk Bar Pie will keep for 1 month. Transfer the pie(s) from the freezer to the refrigerator to defrost a minimum of 1 hour before serving.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in March 2019. It has since been updated with tips and tricks to help make it easier to recreate at home.
Congrats on a long and happy marriage Ari! Plus, this pie is gorgeous and you are awesome!
You are just the best — thank you, Jenny! xo
After watching the Netflix episode on her I was dying to try her crack pie -and her miso pie too! Since I am a bit far from NYC, that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. I am so glad I found your recipe! I am going to try it.
oh YAY!! The oatmeal cookie crust is unlike anything I’ve made before, it is SO buttery omg. If you can’t find some of the ingredients, know that you can buy them online from the Milk Bar store! I buy milk powder in small packages from Whole Foods for less than $1 a bag!
Question: milk powder and corn powder = powdered milk and corn starch as substitutes?
Hi Sara! Yes, powdered milk is perfect, but corn starch is not an equivalent substitute for corn powder. Milk Bar’s corn powder is essentially freeze dried corn that has been ground finely in a food processor. I have been able to purchase a container from the Milk Bar store website in the past. If you can’t find it (and seriously, it’s a unique ingredient that is hard to track down for sure) you could pulverize freeze dried corn yourself at home. I know that’s labor intensive…
After a quick search online I saw that Michelle of Brown Eyed Baker DID use corn starch in her recipe and had great results. So while I want to be clear that it’s not a perfect substitute, I think you can easily use it here and still have a stellar Milk Bar crack pie! Hope this helps!
I made it I made it! Look what I can do! Lol it turned out spot on Thank you for saving me well all of us a nice piece of change in form of dollars bills 😉
Proud of you, Brenda!! It definitely requires time and patience, but so worth it in the end! xo, Ari
Hi! So excited to try this, but quick question regarding freezing… do I freeze the pies in their pan or do I take them out and wrap them first?! Planning on making one for this weekend, and keep the other one frozen for a work bake-off next week!
Thank you!
Hi Clara! Freeze the pies in the pie dish! Hope you love them, report back! xo, Ari
can you substitute skimmed powdered milk in this recipe for crack pie?
Hi Marzia! I’m fairly certain that skimmed milk powdered milk and milk powder are the same thing (you could do a quick google search to confirm). If so, yes, you can use that! xo, Ari
This is the most convoluted set of recipe instructions that I’ve ever seen. And I am a regular baker. Why not just make it straight-forward? Awful!!
Hi Camilla, this is Christina Tosi’s Milk Bar recipe. This is not my original creation (you can check out some of my baking recipes to see how I write, if you like). This is a precise recipe and she includes very specific instructions, which come directly from the author. Hope this helps to explain any confusion and clarify. Best, Ari