I always seem to have pie crust dough scraps to deal with during the holidays, or anytime in in pie mode, for that matter. I usually bake some up into simple oddly shaped biscuit like sugar cookies or I toss them in the freezer, which can be like a black hole. This simple hack makes a fun breakfast treat and can be blended and flavored/seasoned however you like. You may even make these little nuggets savory/spicy and serve them with your next cheese board. Anything goes. I do this with all butter dough. I have some more idea for this one, like adding some ground nuts to the dough. I’ll keep tinkering and update here as I go!

Basics below.

All Butter Pie Dough

Use your go to or the basic one below:

Ingredients-

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour, chilled (spoon measured)

8 Tbs unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes, or frozen and grated.

3-4 Tbs ice water

1/4 tsp salt (scant)

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

For the cereal-

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

(You may add a small pinch of your favorite seasonings like cardamom)

Granola and or chopped nuts of choice

Method-

Whisk together flour and salt and set bowl in the fridge

Chop or grate butter, and again, place back in fridge

Add 1/4 cup water to a measuring cup with a handful of ice along with cider vinegar

Make the dough-

You may do this by hand (gently squeezing butter into flour), use a pastry cutter or pulse in a food processor- combine flour and butter until pieces of butter are roughly pea sized and fully coated with flour. Slowly trickle in chilled water and combine by hand, with silicone spatula or a few pulses in your processor until dough just holds together when pinched. You should still see small pockets of butter. Be careful not to add too much water or over-mix. The dough should seem a bit dry and not hold together on its own. Gather dough together by hand and press into a round and wrap tightly in parchment or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before use. It will keep refrigerated for 2-3 days. If wrapped airtight, it will keep frozen for up to 3 mos.

When ready to make cereal-

Roll out dough, as you would for pie crust fold in thirds and roll flat again and repeat two more times to establish some structure. Cut into nuggets and toss with sugar cinnamon combo. Spread on a parchment lined baking sheet and chill for 15-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Spread nuggets around as to not overcrowd, and bake for a total of 20 minutes tossing halfway through. Nuggets should be deep golden brown. Butter will pool in pan, don’t be alarmed. Using a slotted spoon, place nuggets on rack to cool. Serve with your favorite milk, too with granola and nuts. Enjoy!

Visual clues here:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/ClkPkuTDqJy/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Note:

I also love this pie dough recipe, by Miro Uskokovic, pastry chef at Gramercy Tavern in NYC, which also incorporates a touch of sour cream:

Ingredients here, method is basically the same as above. Combine sour cream with iced water before combining with flour mixture-

•2 cups (250 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour