Turn your leftover pie crust dough into these quick and easy Pie Crust Cookies! They’re dressed up simply with cinnamon-sugar for a fun and tasty treat.
Easy Pie Crust Cookies
We all know that homemade pie is the best, but you know what goes right along with that? Pie crust cookies!
The idea here is to make use of the pie dough that’s trimmed when fitting and crimping your pie crust in the pan. You can turn that dough into these little cookies quickly and easily!
Of course, the amount of dough you have left will likely vary. But the beauty of this recipe is that it can scale effortlessly to accommodate whatever amount of dough you have. And I can’t say I’d blame you for making a batch of pie dough just to make these cookies!
The cookies you see here were made after I made a batch of Mini Pecan Pies. I usually make enough dough for a double-crust pie for those and often have a nice bit of leftover pie crust scraps after cutting them out. But even if you just have a small amount left over, it’s absolutely worth it to make even just a few of these cookies!
Once you’ve baked the cookies, they’re perfect little sweet bites all on their own. But you can also use them to top off a bowl of ice cream or for dipping in a flavored whipped cream or a dessert dip.
What You’ll Need
This short ingredient list is all you need to make a quick batch of Pie Crust Cookies! See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions.
- Pie crust dough – Use pie dough remnants from trimming your pie crust. Or if you really love these cookies (and why wouldn’t you?!), dedicate a batch of dough just for these cookies!
- Egg – You’ll use this with the water to make an egg wash to help the cookies brown nicely.
- Water
- Cinnamon-sugar – You can use store-bought, but it’s really easy to make your own. I prefer a ratio of 4:1 sugar to cinnamon. You can use either granulated sugar or coarse sugar, as pictured here. Learn more: How to Make Cinnamon Sugar
Can I Use Store-Bought Pie Crust?
If you prefer store-bought pie crust, that will work fine for these cookies. If it’s already rolled, then it may be thicker than what I recommend for these cookies. That will still work, but they may need a little less baking time.
The cookies in these photos were made using my all-butter pie crust, but it should work with your favorite pie crust recipe.
How to Make Pie Crust Cookies
Just roll, cut, top, and bake! If you’ve just made pie, then you’ve already got your rolling pin ready. Grab some cookie cutters and a sheet pan, and you’re all set!
Roll out the dough. Gather the dough together and place it on a lightly floured surface, and roll it to 1/4-inch thickness.
Cut out the cookies. Use a small cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Gather and re-roll the dough, and repeat. Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone liner.
Refrigerate the cookies. Place the pan in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or until the dough is chilled.
Heat the oven. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Make the egg wash. Combine the egg and water in a small bowl, mixing well. Brush over the chilled cookies. Depending on how many cookies you’re making, you may not need all of the egg wash.
Top with cinnamon-sugar. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with cinnamon-sugar.
Bake. Place the pan in the heated oven, and bake 10 to 12 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown.
Cool. Place the pan on a wire rack and allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes. Then transfer the cookies directly onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Tips for Success
- Rolling the dough. I recommend rolling the dough to 1/4-inch thick. This is thicker than you’d roll it for a pie crust (usually 1/8 inch).
- Don’t skip the chilling time. Your cookies will hold their shape better and have a flaky texture.
- Use small cookie cutters. This is especially important if you’re using leftover pie crust, as you won’t have much dough to use. The cutters I used for this batch (linked below the recipe) are about 1.5 inches in diameter. You can gather and re-roll the dough to cut out more cookies, but as with any rolled doughs, you’ll get diminishing returns in texture and shape.
- Simplify. To keep things extra simple, just use a sharp knife to cut the cookies after rolling the dough. You can even use trimmed crust scraps just as they are with no rolling or cutting. Both ways are quick and there’s zero waste.
How to Store
These cookies are likely to be devoured quickly after they’re baked, but you can store any leftovers in an airtight container for about 3 days. They’ll last a couple more days in the refrigerator if you need to extend that.
Can These Cookies Be Frozen?
Yes, you can freeze pie crust cookies! Place them in an airtight, freezer-safe container or bag. Properly stored, they should keep in the freezer up to 3 months. Thaw for an hour or so at room temperature.
Pie Crust Cookies
It's SO easy to turn your leftover pie crust dough into these sweet, cinnamon-y Pie Crust Cookies!
Ingredients
- pie crust dough
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- cinnamon-sugar*
Instructions
- Lightly flour a work surface. Roll the dough to a 1/4-inch thickness.
- Use a cookie cutter to cut out the dough.
- Place the dough cutouts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone liner. Leave about 2 inches between the cookies. Refrigerate or freeze for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Make an egg wash by combining the egg and water. Brush over the tops of the cookies. (You won't use all of the egg wash.)
- Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with cinnamon-sugar.
- Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown. Cool on the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes before transferring the cookies directly to a rack to cool completely.
Notes
*Use store-bought cinnamon-sugar or make your own with a ratio of 4:1 sugar to cinnamon. Either granulated sugar or coarse sugar works well.
Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days or in the freezer up to 3 months.
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12 Comments on “Pie Crust Cookies”
Oh my gosh, this brought back a flood of memories! Â My mom was an awesome cook and baker – she won many blue ribbons for her pies at the Grand Rapids, Minnesota fair each summer. Â She made pies quite often and I always looked forward to her baking the scraps with cinnamon and sugar. Â She did not re-roll and cut out, she just sprinkled cinnamon sugar on the long, half moon scrap pieces and baked them. Â LOVED these!! Thanks for bringing these wonderful thoughts of my mom right back to me!
I’m so glad to bring a little nostalgia your way, Jan! My mother was not much of a pie baker, but there are some things I bake that make me instantly think of her every time. 🙂
My mom did more pies than other desserts. Â I never got as good but I think pies are more practice than baking prowess. Â Knowing the “feel” of the crust dough, etc. Â She probably did it all by memory but I never met one of her pies I didn’t like. Â She did something similar but just sugar no cinnamon that I remember. Â Since I even loved raw pie dough (weird I know) it was like some fancy pastry to a young NC girl. Â She did the same with biscuit dough and called them “stickies”. Â Like a poor man’s sweet roll. Â I adored both. Â Thanks for the nostalgia!
Pies definitely take practice, but they’re completely worth the effort. I love the idea of doing something similar with biscuit dough!
Wow…way too much work. I have been doing thus for years fir my kids. So.etimes just making the dough fir the crust cookies , at their request. I just roll out the dough, put a layer of butter(unmelted, but softened) and sprinkle with cinnamon d sugar. Bake until dough is crispy 15-20 minutes. When done I just break the crust into pieces.
The great thing is that everyone has their own version of these little cookies!
My grandmother made these, my mother did, and so do I. Never reroll the dough, but everytime else but the bake time. I think they have been around for generations. Yum yum
I’m loving hearing everyone’s versions of these little cookies!
Made these for a fall party. Â I had to leave early so my husband and I enjoyed them most. Yum for us!
I’m so happy to hear that, Barbara!
My mom always used the leftover pie crust similarly. She would roll out the dough, spread it with butter- sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Then she would roll the dough up and slice- cinnamon roll style. Then bake them like that. Your way is much simpler and I’m sure just as delicious.
Your mom’s way sounds good, too! I don’t think you can go wrong with combining leftover pie crust with cinnamon and sugar!