My parents bake pieces of their pie crust with cinnamon and sugar, bag them, and sell the “sugar scraps” — in fact, they sell a lot of them. I prefer to use not only cinnamon but a mix of spices. The egg wash gives fruit pies and savory pies a deep golden hue and pretty sheen — it does the same here. Snacking on these Sugar Scraps may just take your mind off a pie that is cooling too slowly.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
- Make the egg wash first. In a small bowl, beat the egg and sugar with a whisk until smooth.
- Before baking, brush the pie(s) surface with the egg mixture, avoiding the crimped edges, and take care not to allow the egg wash to pool in any recessed areas.
- Discard any excess egg wash, or save it to use on a fruit pie within two days. Bake immediately.
- Then make the Sugar Scraps. In a bowl, combine the sugar, spices, and salt.
- Roll the leftover pie crust to 1/8-inch (3 mm) thick and brush it with egg wash or maple syrup.
- Sprinkle with the spiced sugar, as lightly or heavily as you’d like. (Depending on how much pastry dough you have, you may end up with a lot of leftover spiced sugar. You can store it indefinitely in an airtight container at room temperature.)
- Using a knife or cookie cutter, cut the pie crust into whatever shapes you’d like. Transfer the crust pieces to Holy Sheet.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the pastry pieces are puffed, crisp, and no longer doughy.
- Transfer to a cooling rack. Enjoy as soon as they’ve cooled, or keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
