Graham Cracker Crust + Cookie Variations

By norsegal8

Any crunchy cookie can be turned into a pie crust. You can mix and match crusts and fillings to suit your taste and imagination. Here are some of our favorites:

Ingredients

• Graham Cracker Crust
• 1 3/4 cups (about 5 1/4 ounces) graham cracker crumbs*
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) confectioners' or glazing sugar
• 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) butter or margarine, melted
• One cellophane-wrapped packet of graham crackers -- 11 whole crackers -- will yield this amount of crumbs.

Preparation

Step 1

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the crumbs, sugar and butter or margarine. Press the mixture into the bottom and partway up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan, 9-inch cheesecake pan, or 9-inch deep-dish pie pan. If you are using a 9 by 1 1/2-inch pan, you will have 1/4 to 1/2-cup of extra crumb mixture. This can become a garnish for the pie, if you like.

To blind bake the crust, place in a preheated375°F oven for 15 minutes, just until set and you smell the cookies toasting. Remove from the oven, cool on a rack, and finish with the filling of your choice.

Chocolate cookie crust: replace the graham crackers with 2 cups of chocolate cookie crumbs- 40 chocolate wafer cookies (one 9 ounce package) will crunch down to 2 cups.

Vanilla Wafer crust: replace the graham crackers with equal amount of vanilla wafer cookie crumbs. 71 crackers (8 3/4 ounces) will crunch down to 2 cups of crumbs.

Gingersnap crust: replace the graham crackers with 2 cups of crushed gingersnaps. 43 gingersnaps (10 3/4 ounces) will crush down to 2 cups of crumbs.

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