Tahini Crack Pie

After non-committal-y browsing Netflix for entirely way too long the other night we happily stumbled upon the pastry series of Chef’s Table and decided watching the adorable Christina Tosi talk about why sugar is great for an hour would most certainly be the best way to spend our Wednesday night.  Watching the episode reminded me of my post-grad days in New York City when Momofuku was new, Marlo’s Bakeshop was merely a glimmer in my eye and the concept of something called Crack Pie from Tosi was nothing short of genius. In the episode she describes first making this pie as a happy accident for family meal while working at WD-50; an attempt at making something similar to Chess Pie – a sweet solution when you have no fresh or frozen fruit, chocolate or nuts to throw into a baked pie shell.
 
I remembered the pie being tooth achingly sweet and figured if I made it with our new Sesame Tahini Tea Cookies that have a more salty-sweet vibe, that that sugar might be tempered a bit.  While the presence of the ground roasted sesame paste in the crust and whipped into the filling does, in fact, give the pie another layer of dimension and nuance, at the end of the day this pie is still sweet AF. You’ve been warned!

 

 

Tahini Crack Pie

Crust:

Nonstick vegetable cooking spray

1 box Sesame Tahini Tea Cookies, crushed

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

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

1 tablespoon tahini

Powdered sugar for dusting

 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 13 x 9 x 2 inch metal baking pan with parchment paper and coat with nonstick spray. 

2. Combine melted butter with tahini cookies and press evenly to edges of prepared pan. Bake until light golden brown on top, 17-18 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool cookie completely. Keep oven to 350 degrees.

3. Position rack in center of oven.

4. Whisk both sugars and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add melted butter and whisk until blended. Add cream, then egg yolks and vanilla and whisk until blended. 

5. Pour filling into crust and bake pie 30 minutes (filling may begin to bubble).

6. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. 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 minutes longer. 

7. Cool pie 2 hours in pie dish on rack & chill uncovered overnight. 

8. Sift powdered sugar lightly over top of pie. Cut pie into wedges and serve cold.

Enjoy!