The Cozy Spice Blend That Belongs In Your Next Pie Crust

While most pie recipes you run into include a handful of spices, usually they all end up in the filling. There is certainly some variation in different pie crusts, but generally they are left pretty plain. We are here to remedy that mistake. Tossing herbs and spices into your pie crust adds layers of flavor to an often ignored — but deeply important — part of the pie. And there's one blend of spices in particular that your desserts are calling for, even if you don't realize it yet: chai spice.

The spices that you find in a typical masala chai blend start with some that are pretty common throughout the world of pies — warm spices like cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and ginger — but there are also some ingredients that you likely won't find in any of grandma's recipes. Things like cardamom, black pepper, fennel, and star anise are also found in many chai spice blends, and they add a complexity to your pie crusts that can transform even those favorite family recipes into something altogether better.

As for how to add these spices to your pie crusts, well, it's as simple as it sounds. Just mix a dash into the dry ingredients of your favorite pie crust recipe. You want to keep the chai addition small, just a teaspoon or two. While it's tempting to really crank up the flavor, the goal is a gentle counterpoint to the filling in an otherwise unseasoned part of the pie, not something that competes for center stage.

Now that you are sold on the idea of adding an intriguing layer of chai spice to your next pie crust, the only question is what filling goes in the center of that pie. Fortunately, despite being a complex blend, chai spice mixes actually lend themselves to a wide array of flavors.

The most straightforward place to take this blend is somewhere warm spices already have a comfortable home: a classic pumpkin pie. Spices like cinnamon and nutmeg work beautifully with pumpkin, and the smoky, floral notes of cardamom add another tantalizing layer of aroma. Adding some spice brings a new life to this classic autumnal pie, particularly for the last bites of a slice where the flavor of the crust can be dominant.

Another excellent category to explore is custard pies. By nature, custards are silky and rich but generally not too heavily spiced. Adding just a hint of chai spice to the crust is the perfect way to imbue a subtle pie with an elegant twist. Coconut and chai spice also pair beautifully, making this coconut custard pie recipe an ideal fit for this crust trick.

But you don't need to stick to the rich side of pies with this method either, it also works great with fruit pies. Apple pie is another obvious choice — for the same reason as pumpkin pie — but blueberry, blackberry, and even cherry ones benefit as much or more from this simple spice infusion. Fruit pies, like this lemon blueberry pie, don't usually have many seasonings added to them, but that gooey, sweet, tart filling is improved in ways you might not necessarily expect by a subtle hint of spice.