Don't Throw Away Your Excess Pie Dough. Turn It Into A Sundae Topping Instead

Pie crust can be a finicky pastry to make, especially if you want to achieve a lot of light, flaky pastry layers. So if you take the time to make a homemade crust, you should absolutely use the entire pastry. One of the best ways to use leftover scraps is to bake them off as an ice cream sundae topping. Paired with any flavor of ice cream, the flaky pastry adds a contrast of flavors and textures while minimizing food waste at home. Fortunately, baking the pastry crumbs is as easy as baking the original pie. Let's explore how best to prepare the excess pie dough.

After you have prepared the crust in a pie dish, collect the extra pie dough and gather it on a separate baking tray. Cook the scraps at the same temperature as the pie crust, but keep a close eye on it. Because the excess scraps are going to be smaller pieces than the crust, it will take far less time to bake. You'll want to ensure the pastry is removed from the oven before it begins to burn. After the pieces are baked and cooled, you can easily crumble them into a delicate crumb for sprinkling over ice cream sundaes. Think of it as being similar to an ice cream pie with a smaller ratio of crust to ice cream.

While there are tons of great ice cream toppings out there, one thing that makes pie crust crumble so unique is that you can customize the flavor. Those who like a savory balance to the sweetness can sprinkle the pie dough with flaky sea salt. Or try adding a bit of nutty crunch with sesame seeds or poppy seeds. Others might prefer rolling it in sugar and spices like cinnamon or allspice. You can even swap out the granulated sugar for a dusting of powdered sugar. Whatever your preferences are, there are plenty of ways to add more flavor and texture to the pie dough before it is crumbled into large pieces or a fine crumb. 

If you bake more pie dough crumble than you can use at once on top of ice cream sundaes, consider storing it for later use. To do this, allow the crust to cool completely at room temperature before placing it inside any kind of storage container. Moisture that gets trapped in the pie crust can cause it to turn soft rather than crisp. Once it has cooled, add the crumble into an air-tight container and store it in the fridge if you plan to use it soon or the freezer for long-term storage.