So yeah, we’ve been practicing the shizzle out of pie the last couple of weeks. Our goal was to place in the pie contest and to make sure we added a cute design to our pecan pie this year. We invested in a cute Fall cookie cutout set. And of course we had to test many batches of pie dough 😉 You won’t ever find me complaining about that! And along the way, we stumbled upon a cute idea for the leftover pie dough, Pie Crust Cookies!
I know what you may be thinking… “I could eat like a hundred of those.” And yes, that’s exactly what I said. And then I started popping them like candy and sure enough, you can eat like a hundred of them. Kidding aside, they are reallllly yummy and super easy to make. You can add or delete any flavors, nuts or treats that you desire to the recipe. Make them your own… but beware, hide a little baggie of these all for yourself because these things disappear like hot cakes.
So what’s awesome about these pie crust cookies is you can either make a handful with the leftover dough you have after making pie, OR you can use a whole recipe and just make hundreds of these little cookies 😉 I’m including a super simple food processor pie dough recipe here so you can decide on your own what you want to do. But I must say, these little pie cookies are delicious as an addition over your favorite holiday side dishes, such as green bean casserole or really anything else. Try them on anything! I won’t stop you! I must say that they are truly delightful with a glass of wine. And who doesn’t want a pie crust cookie after all that holiday baking. They are like Scooby snacks!
If you are making these to decorate the top of your pie, you don’t want to cook them ahead of time. Simply cut them out and lay them on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Keep them in the refrigerator and when your pie is all put together, add them on by rubbing a little ice water underneath the cutout and then stick them in place. We used these to line the edge of our winning pecan pie. They also work well in patterns or designs on top of your pie, such as on pumpkin pie or apple pie. Just lay them right on top and then bake the pie. You can cover the top of the pie with foil after 20 minutes if the cut outs have fully cooked. We found that they took longer to cook in the center of the pie when it was surrounded by moisture, but you may have to experiment to see what you get.
Here’s the step-by-step instructions for making the walnut cranberry pie crust cookies:
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 10 minutes |
| Passive Time | 2 hours |
| Servings |
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- 2 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 Tbsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Salt
- 20 Tbsp Kerrygold Salted Butter Cold
- 6 Tbsp Ice Water
- 1 Egg for egg wash if desired
- 1/2 cup Walnuts
- 1/2 cup Dried Cranberries
Ingredients
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- Place butter in freezer for half hour before.
- In a food processor, combine 2/3 of the flour, the salt and the sugar. Pulse the dry ingredients 5-6 times.
- Chop the butter into 1/2 inch squares and spread the chunks evenly over the flour mixture in the food processor.
- Place the top on the food processor and pulse to start incorporating the butter. You may have heard to stop when the butter is pea-sized, but in this case, keep pulsing until you see the entire mixture come together into a dough.
- Take the lid off and spread the mixture out evenly in the processor. Add the rest of the flour on top. Put the lid back on and pulse 5-6 times. The dough may break up into large clumps with lots of flour surrounding it. This is what you want!
- Transfer the dough into a bowl. Add three tablespoons of the ice cold water and turn dough over 2-3 times (don't overmix, just push down and turn). Add the last 3 tablespoons of water and turn again forming it into a messy ball. This dough will be very wet, but that's okay!
- Flour a work surface generously. Turn the ball of dough out onto the surface and use a spatula or scraper to cut the dough ball in half. One half can be used for your pie crust. The other can be used for pie crust cookie decorations. Or use all of the dough for pie crust cookies!
- Wrap each half in plastic wrap.
- Push down on the wrapped dough to flatten it out into a 4-5 inch disc. Refrigerate for a least 2 hours. They can be stored up to a maximum of 3 days.
- Flour a work surface. After the dough is chilled, remove it from the wrap and roll it out on floured surface.
- Sprinkle the walnuts and cranberries onto the rolled out dough.
- Use your favorite Fall cookie cut outs to cut out shapes in the dough.
- Place the cut outs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Chill in the fridge until ready to use or bake.
- Bake at 425 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until they turn golden brown. They also brown if you are baking pie at 375 after about 15-20 minutes. Enjoy as a sweet holiday treat!
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