How To Make A Graham Cracker Crust
Learn how easy it is to make your own graham cracker crust with this simple tutorial! You only need three ingredients and about 10 minutes to prepare this pie crust. This recipe works great for baked or no-bake pies!
It’s been a while since I’ve shared a how-to baking post, so I thought I would start the new year with one recipe that I make all of the time – a homemade graham cracker crust.
I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ve never been a fan of the store-bought graham cracker crusts. I feel like store-bought crusts are far too crumbly and it’s almost impossible to get a clean slice out of them without it falling apart.
I’ve been making my own homemade graham cracker crust for years now and I’ve never looked back. This recipe is easy to make with just three ingredients and you can prepare it in less than 10 minutes. This crust also works as a great base for baked and no-bake pies!
This recipe is adapted from the graham cracker crust that I’ve used in a some of my cheesecake bars, like these blackberry swirl cheesecake bars. Since I wanted to create a slightly thicker crust that works good for pies, I scaled the recipe up slightly. Because let’s be honest, a thicker crust is always better.
To start, you’ll need some graham cracker crumbs and granulated sugar. If you’re using regular graham crackers, you can easily crush them in a blender or food processor. If you don’t have a blender or food processor, you can also just add the graham crackers to a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to crush them.
For this recipe, you’ll need 1 and 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs, which usually comes out to about 11-12 full sheets of graham crackers. If you want to make this recipe a little easier, you can just buy a box of graham cracker crumbs. I’ve made this recipe both ways and either method works fine, so feel free to use whichever you prefer.
Once you combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar, you’ll mix in some melted butter. I suggest starting with 5 tablespoons of butter and then see how the mixture looks first. It should be a little bit crumbly, but if you squeeze some together in your hand it will hold together. Remember that you’ll also be packing the crust down firmly into a pie dish.
If you feel that the crust is a little too dry/crumbly you can melt an additional tablespoon of butter and stir it in. I typically like to use 5 tablespoons of butter for a baked pie crust so that the crust is buttery, but not too greasy once it’s baked. If I’m making a no-bake pie crust, I like to use 6 tablespoons of butter since I won’t be baking it and want it to hold together really well.
Once you’ve mixed up the graham cracker crust, you’ll scoop the mixture into a pie dish and press it down firmly on the bottom and up around the sides. I like to use the bottom of a measuring cup to help pack the crust down.
I used a pie dish for this tutorial, but you can use a springform pan also. I actually prefer to use a springform pan for no-bake pies, since it’s easier to remove them from the pan and slice them.
As I mentioned earlier, this homemade graham cracker pie crust is a perfect base for just about any pie. I especially love to use this recipe for my homemade key lime pie. I’ll be sharing that recipe next week, so you can have an excuse to try this pie crust!
Baking Tips for Graham Cracker Crust
- You can make your own graham cracker crumbs by crushing graham crackers in a blender, food processor, or plastic bag. If you want to make this recipe a little easier, you can skip this step and just use store-bought graham cracker crumbs. Both work great in this recipe!
- If using graham crackers in this recipe, you’ll need about 11-12 full sheets of graham crackers to get 1 and 1/2 cups of crumbs.
- I suggest starting with 5 tablespoons of butter. If you feel that the mixture is too dry or crumbly, melt an additional tablespoon of butter and stir it in.
How To Make A Graham Cracker Crust
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (180 grams) graham cracker crumbs
- 1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
- 5-6 tablespoons (70-85 grams) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
Instructions
- Add the graham crackers to a blender or food processor and process until you have fine crumbs. Scoop the crumbs into a mixing bowl and stir in the sugar. Add the melted butter and stir until well combined and all of the crumbs are moistened.
- Scoop the mixture into a 9-9.5 inch pie plate (or springform pan) and firmly press it down into an even layer on the bottom and up around the sides of the dish.
- For a baked pie crust: Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned.
- For a no-bake pie crust: Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes while preparing your filling, then fill the pie crust.
Notes
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