Ever wonder what else you can make with pie dough beside pies?? You’re in luck, because today, we’re making Pie Crust Cookies! It’s a fun way to use up leftover pie dough or make garnishing for your pies.
Pie crust cookies are almost like shortbread cookies, except pie dough typically doesn’t have a lot of sugar in it. That’s why we also rely on the cinnamon sugar topping to sweeten these pretty little cookies.
Table of Contents
Why this recipe works
- My all butter pie crust recipe is sweeter than a typical pie dough making it perfect for this pie crust cookie recipe.
- You can use store bought pie dough for this recipe to save time, just remember to add extra sugar topping to sweeten it.
- You can use different pie crust stamps and cookie cutters to customize the cookie shape for any seasons and occasions.
Ingredients and substitutions
As always, you’ll find the complete list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card at the end of this post. Below are some notes and substitution tips for each ingredient:
- Flour – all-purpose flour is all you need for this recipe. However, you could also use pastry flour.
- Granulated sugar – I use granulated sugar to sweeten the pie crust as well as to make the cinnamon sugar topping. Pretty much any type of sugar should work here.
- Butter – I use unsalted butter so I can control the amount of salt in the recipe but in a pinch you can use salted butter. Simply omit the salt called for separately.
- Salt – I use kosher salt as that is typically what I have in my pantry. If using table salt, use one half to two thirds as much.
- Water – I use iced water to hydrate the pie dough and to bring it all together. You want to make sure it is cold so the butter doesn’t melt. You could use some type of alcohol, such as vodka, to replace some or all of the water. Alcohol inhibits gluten formation and will create a flakier crust in the end.
- Cinnamon – is mixed with sugar to make a cinnamon sugar topping for these pie crust cookies. You can also use pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice or any or your favorite spice mixes.
- Egg – one egg is used for egg wash to give the cookies shine and a golden brown appearance once baked.
- Milk – milk is mixed with the egg to make egg wash. If you don’t have milk on hand, you can use water.
Tools you’ll need
- A food processor or stand mixer to make the pie dough. If you have neither, you can still make the pie dough by hand.
- A rolling pin to roll out the pie dough.
- A few cookie cutters or pie stamps to cut out shapes or decorations.
- A baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat to bake the cookies on.
- A pastry brush to apply egg wash to the cookies.
How to make pie crust cookies
The following instructions, step by step photos and tips are here to help you visualize how to make the recipe. You can always skip straight to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
First, make the pie dough. I have a whole post showing how to make pie dough three different ways, with video. Check it out if you want to make your pie dough from scratch.
Tip: you can use refrigerated pie dough to save time! However, I still think homemade tastes better.
Once you make the pie dough, you need to refrigerate it for at least one hour before rolling it out. Roll the dough out to between ⅛ – ¼ inch thick.
Tip: if you refrigerate the dough too long, it will be difficult to roll. This is okay, just let it sit at room temperature for 15 – 20 minutes to soften. Or if you’re in a hurry, just beat it with the rolling pin to flatten it, making it easier to roll.
You can use pie stamps or cookie cutters of different shapes to cut out your cookies. Place them on a lined cookie sheet and refrigerate or freeze them before baking.
Tip: if you have a small freezer, you can use a small baking sheet or plate to freeze these pie crust cookies in layers, just put a piece of parchment paper in between the layers to prevent them from sticking.
Preheat your oven and brush the cookies with egg wash and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar generously. Bake until golden brown.
Tip: if you’re using these for decorations, you can use turbinado sugar or sanding sugar for sparkles.
More baker’s tips
- Freezing the cookie dough – Freezing or at least refrigerating these cookies before baking will help them keep their shapes. If you use pie stamps, this will help the details on the surface show up better.
- Make ahead – you can make the pie dough a few days ahead and keep it refrigerated or freeze it for months ahead of time.
- How to use these cookies – you can serve these just like you would shortbread cookies. Use them as garnishing for this purple sweet potato pie or these pumpkin pie bars. Or add them as decorations on hand pies.
FAQs
Absolutely! While I recommend using my homemade pie crust because it is so much tastier, store bought crust is a great way to save time and make this recipe extra easy. If you have a brand you know and love, feel free to use a store bought substitution.
They taste like cinnamon sugar shortbread cookies if you use an all butter pie crust.
You don’t need to make a full batch of pie dough! This recipe is a great way to use up pie dough scraps. I do this all the time if I have excess pie dough from another recipe. I’d reroll the pie crust scraps and cut out a bunch of shapes for decorations or just freeze them for another day.
Storage
These pie crust cookies will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. But I think they are best within the first week.
You can freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months and unbaked ones for up to 6 months.
More holiday cookies
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📖 Recipe card
Pie Crust Cookies
Ingredients
Pie dough
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour (198 g)
- 2 rounded tablespoon granulated sugar (35 g)
- ¼ rounded teaspoon kosher salt (3 g)
- 5 oz unsalted butter (141 g, cold & cubed)
- 3 tablespoon cold water (44 g)
- Extra flour for rolling
Egg wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon of milk (or water)
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Add flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse several times to mix. Add cubed cold butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs and butter is about pea size. Add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until the dough starts to pull together.
- Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured board, gather together and shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic and rest in the fridge for an hour.
- Take the pie dough out of the refrigerator and roll out to between ⅛” to ¼” thick on a lightly floured surface. Use a pie crust stamp to cut out seasonal shapes or simply use a cookie cutter. Reroll scraps and cut out more cookies.
- Place cookies on a lined baking sheet about 1” apart and refrigerate or freeze while the oven preheats.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Beat 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of water or milk to make egg wash.
- Mix 2 tablespoons of sugar with ½ teaspoon of cinnamon to make cinnamon sugar topping.
- When the oven is ready, remove the baking sheet with cookies from the freezer or refrigerator, brush the top of the cookies with egg wash and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar.
- Bake for 10 – 14 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven, let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- If cookies are smaller, the baking time will be shorter. And if cookies are larger, the baking time will be longer. If you cut out different shapes, just make sure to bake similar sizes together so you don’t burn the smaller ones.
- The amount of cookies you get from one batch will vary depending on how large or small your cookie cutter is.
Nutrition
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Such a fun way to use pie crust. These look wonderful