Chef notes

This recipe is the perfect example of a dessert that’s far greater than the sum of its parts. Imagine the soft, fudgy center of a freshly baked brownie coupled with the crispy, buttery tenderness of pie crust. It’s everything you love about homemade brownies repackaged into a rustic pie. The magic of this recipe comes down to the mingling of two shortcut ingredients: Pre-made pie crust and boxed brownie mix. Together, the two create a decadent dessert that feels fancy enough to serve anytime, anywhere. The pie is nostalgic, decadent and practically impossible to dislike.

To make it, you’ll par bake store-bought pie crust in a pie dish until it’s just starting to brown, then fill it with brownie batter. (This extra baking step ensures the pie crust is as flaky as possible and prevents a soggy bottom.) While you can certainly make your own homemade brownie batter, this recipe relies on boxed brownie mix to cut back on the prep time and shorten the ingredient list. You’ll just mix your favorite boxed brownie mix with water, oil and eggs and pour it directly into the blind baked pie shell. Bake the pie until the top is shiny and cracked, then let it cool slightly before serving so the center has time to set.

For an especially decadent dessert, I recommend serving this pie at either room temperature or warmed in the microwave for 20 seconds with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. The contrast of the warm brownie pie and cold ice cream will be reminiscent of a restaurant-style brownie.

If you don’t have everything you need on hand, you can easily purchase all of the ingredients (just click the orange button below that says ‘Get Ingredients’). You can pick and choose exactly what ingredients you need based on what’s in your pantry and they’ll be on your doorstep before you know it.

Technique Tip: When rolling and shaping the pie crust, don’t overwork the dough. It’s okay if it’s not cohesive.

Special Equipment Needed: Rolling pin and pie weights (or alternatively, dried beans)

Ingredients

1 (14.1-ounce) box pre-made pie crust (2 sheets of pie dough)
all-purpose flour, for rolling pie dough
1 (18-ounce) box brownie mix
1/4 cup water

1/3 cup neutral oil such as canola or vegetable
1 large egg
vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)
whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Fulfilled by

Preparation

Place both sheets of pie dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead them into one ball and form into a rough disk shape. Roll the dough out into a rough circle shape that’s about 1/3-inch thick, then carefully transfer it into a standard 9-inch metal, ceramic or glass pie plate. Press the dough into the bottom and sides of the pie plate, then trim the excess dough that is hanging off the lip of the pie plate, leaving about a 1-inch overhang. Roll the excess crust underneath itself, then crimp the edge into a decorative pattern using your fingers. (If the dough is sticking to your fingers, lightly dust your hands in flour.) Prick the bottom and sides of the dough with a fork several times and place in the freezer for 20 minutes.

As the dough is chilling, position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 F.

Once the dough is fully chilled, line the inside of the pie crust with a sheet of parchment paper and fill the center with enough pie weights or dried beans so they come up to the top of the pie plate. Bake the pie shell until the crust is just barely starting to brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Carefully remove the parchment paper and pie weights by lifting them out by the parchment paper, then return the pie crust to the oven and continue baking until the bottom looks completely matte but doesn't have much browning, 6 to 10 minutes more. Remove the pie from the oven and let cool for at least 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 F.

As the pie is cooling, combine the brownie mix, water, oil and egg and mix using a rubber spatula until smooth and no streaks of unincorporated egg remain. Pour the brownie batter into the cooled (but still slightly warm) pie shell and bake until the center doesn’t jiggle when you move the pie pan and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached to it, 30 to 35 minutes. If at any point the crust starts to get too brown, tent the edge of the pie with foil.

Let the pie cool at room temperature for at least 2 hours before cutting, then serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.