So you made a pie crust from scratch. Congratulations! 🎉 No, seriously, you deserve an award. But let us guess, after rolling out the perfect circle for your pie, you've found yourself with some scraps—likely ones of all different sizes and shapes. Don't fear: your time was not wasted. Pie dough is really just flour, butter, salt, sugar, and water. Its super neutral flavor means there are tons of ways, both sweet and savory, to use it. So crank the oven to 375º and get scrappy.
- Charcuterie board crackers. Cut the leftover scraps into bite-size pieces, throw them on a baking sheet, and bake until slightly puffed, about 10 minutes. Then throw them on a cheese boardwith brie and jam.
- Mini cinnamon rolls. If you have long strips of dough leftover, spread a cinnamon bun filling on them, roll them up, and bake. They will have a flakier texture, but since when was that a bad thing?
- Cheater breadsticks. Brush the dough with butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake until golden. Dip in your go-to Sunday sauce, or serve alongside soup and salad.
- Muffin tin mushroom tarts. Get out your muffin tin, and cut the scraps to fill the bottom. Press in, then fill with mushrooms sautéed in herbs and butter. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Finish with freshly grated Parm.
- Turn them into empanadas. Use a biscuit cutter to cut out rounds from the dough scraps. Top them with ricotta or mozzarella, sautéed meat or veggies, really anything you have on hand. Fold over and crimp to seal with a fork, then bake for 15 minutes until flaky and warmed through.
- Hand pies. Got any leftover apple or pecan pie filling? Combine them into a little dessert hand pie. Give them the empanada treatment by cutting out circles, scooping in the filling, crimping, and baking.
- Ice cream sandwiches. Yes, really. Cut the dough into squares and bake until golden, 10 minutes. Next, layer a few scoops of ice cream on top of one, top with another, and boom! You’ve got yourself an ice cream pie sandwich.
- Elephant ears. Replace the traditional puff pastry with leftover pie crust in this palmiers (a.k.a. elephant ears) recipe.
- Choose-your-own-adventure cookie. Cut the dough into pieces; no need to be exact. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle whatever you want on top: cinnamon sugar, everything bagel seasoning, ginger and cardamom, brown sugar. Bake for 15 minutes for a sweet little snack.
