Earlier this summer, I made my first trip to Momofuku Milk Bar. This place is RIDICULOUSLY good. Naturally, I had to try (almost) everything on the menu in case I never made the 12 block trek again. Here’s a review of everything we tried:
- Cereal Milk – The cereal milk was ice cold milk with crushed cereal powder mixed in. The texture was really strange to me and it was a little too sweet.
- Cookies – We tried a compost cookie, a cornflake marshmallow cookie and a corn cookie. The compost cookie was hands down the best; made with pretzels, chocolate chips, coffee grounds (it works!) and potato chips, the compost cookie contained literally everything but the kitchen sink! one word or warning though: the cookies are served in plastic wrap which tends to make them a little greasy over the course of the day.
- Dill Bagel Bomb – A bagel roll with dill cream cheese inside. Probably would have tasted better eaten immediately instead of waiting until the next morning. Pretty carb-heavy and not enough cream cheese.
- Pistachio Croissant – YUM. We heated this up for breakfast and it was delicious. It was the perfect pistachio flavor and not too heavy, although I did have a bit of a sugar high heading into work that morning.
- Birthday Cake Truffles – This was like eating a ball of cookie dough. Super rich – we shared three truffles between six people and we were all satisfied.
- Crack Pie – I read an article about “crack” foods in NY Mag last month which initially sparked my interest in checking out Momofuku Milk Bar. If I could eat a slice of this pie every day, I would. Each bite melts in your mouth and it the perfect combination of salty and sweet (much like the compost cookie). It reminds me of chess pie, a Southern dessert from my childhood. However, at $5.25 a slice and $44 a pie, adding a slice a day wasn’t exactly in my budget. I did some searching and found a recipe from Bon Appetit for Crack Pie that I used to make my own “crack” pie. I was a little shocked at just how much butter and sugar goes into this recipe (and not much else!), but was pleasantly surprised to discover the crust is made of oatmeal cookies. We can consider this a “healthy” food then, right? 😉
Homemade Momofuku Milk Bar Crack Pie
Recipe from Bon Appetit
Serves 12+ (this cake is very rich; you can make slices 1/2 the size of what you would normally do for pies)
Ingredients
For the Oatmeal Cookie Crust
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
5 1/2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar, divided
2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
For the Filling
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
6 1/2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
4 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar (for dusting)
Directions
For the Oatmeal Cookie Crust
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper; coat with nonstick spray.
2. Combine 6 tablespoons butter, 4 tablespoons brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl.
3. Using electric mixer (if you have one), beat mixture until light and fluffy, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl, about 2 minutes. Add egg; beat until pale and fluffy. Add oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and beat until well blended, about 1 minute.
4. Turn oat mixture out onto prepared baking pan; press out evenly to edges of pan.
5. Bake until light golden on top, 17 to 18 minutes. Transfer baking pan to rack and cool cookie completely.
6. Using hands, crumble oat cookie into large bowl; add 3 tablespoons butter and 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar. Rub in with fingertips until mixture is moist enough to stick together.
7. Transfer cookie crust mixture to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Using fingers, press mixture evenly onto bottom and up sides of pie dish. Place pie dish with crust on rimmed baking sheet.
For the Filling
1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F.
2. Whisk both sugars, milk powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add melted butter and whisk until blended. Add cream, then egg yolks and vanilla and whisk until well blended.
3. Pour filling into crust. Bake pie 30 minutes (filling may begin to bubble).
4. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Continue to bake pie until filling is brown in spots and set around edges but center still moves slightly when pie dish is gently shaken, about 20-25 minutes longer.
5. Cool pie 2 hours in pie dish on rack. Chill uncovered overnight. Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; keep chilled.
6. Sift powdered sugar lightly over top of pie. Cut pie into wedges and serve cold. (NOTE: Don’t add the powdered sugar until the pie is completely cool and right before serving. I got excited and added mine pretty soon after taking the pie from the oven and it absorbed into the pie. Whoops!)
Sweet Southern Comfort 