Crack pie

I love sugar pie. Sugar pie and I go way back. Every year, during sugaring off season in Quebec, I go to Sucrerie de la Montagne and get my fill of sugar pie. I love it! For the last few years, I've been training to eat an entire pie. This year, I finally did. Approximately 15 of my friends were there to witness the event, when I ate an entire sugar pie after having consumed an entire country meal. A few were disgusted; some were proud; many were unsurprised. I felt a great sense of accomplish (and maybe a little bit of a sugar-buzz). I didn't need to eat for the next 15 hours.

I love sugar pie, but I've never actually baked one. Given my past record of eating an entire sugar pie in one sitting, it's probably a good thing that I never attempted to make one at home. Clearly, I can't handle it! And then Bon Appétit published a recipe for a sugar pie this month, "crack pie" to be exact (not made with maple syrup like a Quebec sugar pie, but it seems to be a sugar pie nonetheless). Apparently this crack pie is a bestseller at Milk Bar, and once you start eating it, you can't stop. I have a reputation to uphold, so I obviously had to try out this recipe and make the crack pie. Will I love it as much as I love Quebec sugar pie? Will I eat the whole thing in one sitting?

Crack pie has a lot of steps, but the magazine gave very few photos, so I took a few so that the steps were a little clearer. You have to first make an oat cookie dough, then you bake it as one giant cookie. Many of the Bon Appétit readers mentioned in the reviews to not bake the cookie too long or upon re-baking it, it would burn. I baked the giant cookie til it was golden and crispy on the edges, but still soft in the middle (next time I might let it crisp up a bit more).  Then you cool the cookie, and crumble it into oat cookie crumbs. This is a lot like if you were to first make a giant graham cracker from scratch, which you then crumble into graham cracker crumbs to make a crust.
 

Then, you combine the cookie crumbs with butter, and press them into the pie plate to make the crust.

You make the pie filling, pour it into the crust.

 

And you bake it. The pie filling puffs up quite a bit in the oven. The crust becomes a deep golden color.

When it's done baking, you have to cool it for a couple hours, then overnight in the fridge. OVERNIGHT? WHAT? But I NEED to eat the pie!
As the pie cools, the filling sinks. After chilling overnight, and sampling a slice, this is what it looks like.

 When you zoom in, note the filling has a lovely crispy top that hides a luscious gooey center! It's like sugar-heaven!

All I can say is "wow!"
This pie is wonderfully sweet, and not for the faint-hearted. If you are addicted to sugar like a crack addict is addicted to crack, this pie is definitely for you. Some Bon Appétit readers described the filling as resembling that of a pecan pie. Although I am no expert and it has been a very long time since I've made one, my pecan pie fillings do not have this light, creamy color to them. It is more like a Quebec sugar pie, but it's made with brown sugar instead of maple syrup. Since I love all things maple, I think that if I were to make it again, I might experiment with using maple sugar, instead of brown sugar. Bet that would be awesome!
A slice of this pie for breakfast will definitely give your day a jump-start. It's like a boost of energy! Instead of caffeine, have a slice of crack pie!

For the recipe, click here, please.

I hope you enjoyed my latest installment of Magazine Mondays, which is hosted by Janie this week.