Graham cracker crusts are much more foolproof than the elusive flaky pastry crust. With a these simple crusts, there is no longstanding debate over shortening versus butter or what temperature your marble pastry board should be. No, graham cracker crusts are much more egalitarian, and we like easy crusts this time of year.
Plus, we have a soft spot for pies with graham cracker crusts. They have a nutty, buttery crunch that goes so well with everything from summery ice cream pies topped with fresh fruit to rich pumpkin pies at Thanksgiving.
Making a graham cracker crust is so simple and quick that there is hardly ever a reason to buy store-bought. Just crush the crackers into crumbs, mix with melted butter, and bake. No fuss, no muss! You can even freeze the baked crusts so you have one on-hand for those times when you don't want to heat up the kitchen.
Graham Cracker Crust
Makes one 9-inch pie crustWhat You Need
Ingredients
12 full-size graham crackers (about 6 1/2 ounces)
1/4 cup (2 ounces) sugar, optional
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) butter
1/4 cup (2 ounces) water, optional
Equipment
Food processor OR a rolling pin and a plastic bag
9-inch pie pan
Instructions
1. Crumble the Graham Crackers: Break up the crackers and place them in the bowl of a food processor along with the sugar, if using. Pulse to break the crackers further and then process continuously until the crackers are crushed into fine crumbs. Alternatively, place all the crackers in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin until broken into fine crumbs. You should end up with about 2 cups total of graham cracker crumbs.
2. Combine with Butter: Transfer the graham crackers to a bowl. Melt the butter and pour over the graham crackers. Stir until the crumbs are evenly coated and look wet. The crumbs should hold together in a clump if you press them in your fist; if not, add water a tablespoon at a time until this happens.
3. Press into a Pie Pan: Heat the oven to 375° F. Pour the crumbs into a 9-inch pie pan and press them evenly along the bottoms and sides.
4. Bake the Crust: If you are making a no-bake pie, like Ice Cream Pie, pre-bake the crust for 8 to 10 minutes until dry and fragrant. Cool completely before proceeding with the recipe. For a baked pie, like pumpkin or custard pie, fill the pie and bake according to the recipe instructions.
Additional Notes:
• In place of graham crackers, you can use ginger snaps, nilla wafers, chocolate wafer cookies, chocolate graham crackers, cinnamon grahams, or any other cookie or cracker that is dry and crumbles easily.
• This crust can also be baked in ramekins, muffin cups, cake pans, or tart pans.
• Baked crusts can be wrapped in foil and frozen for up to three months. No need to thaw before filling - the crust will be thawed and perfect by the time you set the pie on the table.
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This post was originally published 11/20/07.
(Images: Emma Christensen)
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Comments (13)
Making your own is also your opportunity to do a couple of other fun things:
(a) Add spices to complement the planned pie.
(b) Substitute any other sort of hard cookie for the graham crackers. (Note to self: Must actually make lemon custard pie with gingersnap crust, not just fantasize about it.)
(c) Substitute a savory cracker for the crust and do a cheesecake that incorporates a savory cheese. (One of the Mrs. Appleyard cookbooks from the 1970s does a cheesecake with cheddar, but I'm sure there are other variants out there.)
There is a cheap brand of gingersnap that oddly enough does not have hydrogenated oils as an ingredient. That makes a great crust and I add butter and a dab of brown sugar. Cheesecake, the favorite breakfast of the household teenage athletes.
I was surprised how good this crust was. I have never added water to a graham cracker crust before. It made the perfect amount. A lot of times the recipe for graham cracker crust doesn't yield enough. This did! One thing I might like is just a little bit of sugar in the recipe. That's probably just me though. Everyone was so loving the pie I made with this crust. (Cherry cream pie)
Great post and a wonderful technique everyone should know. I use the same technique to make crust out of breakfast cereal. My kids love the crazy colours of a Fruit Loop crust.
Graham cracker crust is by far my favorite crust. And the Ice cream cheese cake has been tempting me, I think I have the perfect excuse to make it all this weekend!
I make a graham cracker crust when I make a key lime pie. I add pecans and toasted cocoanut to it to boost that umph of flavor....
I'm with mntwmyn - I make a margarita lime pie with chopped macadamias in the crust. The macadamias really accentuate the buttery flavor of the crust!
Unless I'm missing something, there's not much point in buying actual graham crackers instead of just buying graham crackers crumbs...unless you're really into spending time breaking up crackers. You can buy the crumbs (brand name of off brand) in almost any baking section. If you wanted to creative with a different kind of cookie, that'd be different.
Personally, I like to stick with just crumbs and butter to compliment a simple cheesecake. Yum!
Ooh, the only pie crust I love more than a graham cracker crust is an Oreo crust. My favorite use for graham cracker crust (and it's gotten some rave reviews at parties)- an extra-thick graham crust, filled with dark chocolate ganache and topped with lots of Italian meringue, browned with a kitchen torch. S'more pie. Awesome.
You could do it with Vanilla Waffers also.
Kate---you made me laugh :)
Graham cracker crust is my husband's favorite. Put anything inside---he doesn't care. Sometimes I think I should just pat it into a jelly roll pan, bake, and cut into squares. I like lemonade pie in a graham cracker crust---the perfect summertime treat.
Is there a noticeable difference between using Honey Maid graham crackers (or any others that have honey added) vs "regular" graham crackers - i.e., those not made with honey?
When making the crust for a Key Lime Pie, I like to put a "Margherita spin" on it with a little tequila in the filling and some salty crushed pretzel crumbs added to my graham cracker crust for a salty-sweet flavor. Soo good!