This graham cracker crust recipe is easy and delicious. Although most people use a storebought crust when making a cheesecake or an icebox pie, there is nothing like a homemade graham cracker crust. With just a few, simple ingredients, you can quickly and easily make the best crust you have ever had. Even though I recommend baking the crust for 10 minutes, you can also use this recipe to make a no bake crust. Be sure to continue reading if you want to learn more.
Developing My Graham Cracker Crust Recipe
As always, the first step in developing my recipe was doing research on YouTube and Google. There are many recipes for homemade graham cracker crust, and most of them are very similar, so it can be difficult to know which one is best. Since I had already developed a recipe for a Ritz cracker pie crust, I used that recipe as a starting point for both the ingredients and procedure.
Thinking back to recipes such as my key lime pie in which I used a Ritz cracker crust, I remembered that when I used 100 grams of cracker crumbs, the crust did not go all the way to the top of the 9-inch pie plate. So, I knew that I would need more than 100 grams of crumbs for this crust. I also remembered the flavor: I added a bit of sugar, but not a lot, just enough to contrast nicely with the saltiness and butteriness of the crust without competing with the sweetness of the key lime pie filling. Actually, I really liked the saltiness and butteriness of the crust, so I knew that my graham cracker crust recipe would need a bit of extra flavor in order to really make it special.
Knowing that I wanted something truly amazing, I started experimenting with the recipe. I opened the box of graham crackers, and I realized that there were 3 sleeves of 4.8 ounces (142 grams each). Since I knew I needed more than 100 grams, I thought that 142 grams would likely be perfect. I do not have a food processor, so I simply put the crumbs into a plastic bag and used a rolling pin to crush them finely. I first started with 6 tablespoons of melted better, but as I mixed the crumbs with the butter, I realized that I would need 2 more tablespoons, a full stick of butter. As always, I added a bit of salt to balance out the sweetness, as well as a bit of extra sugar. Although some recipes called for as much as 1/4 cup, some even 1/3 cup, of sugar, I thought that would be too sweet, so I opted for 3 tablespoons. Most people would be satisfied with what I had, but I knew that I wanted something a bit more flavorful, so I decided to add a pinch of cinnamon. I then baked the graham cracker pie crust and used it in my cherry cream cheese pie recipe: even though the entire pie was excellent, the graham cracker crust definitely stole the show.
No Bake Graham Cracker Crust
I fell in love with my graham cracker crust recipe on first bite, so I looked for other pies in which I could use the crust. After making the no bake cheesecake with condensed milk, I made a banoffee pie, and the crust was outstanding once again. I then remembered a recipe I had seen on Emmymadeinjapan‘s YouTube channel, so I made an easy no bake lemon pie using my crust recipe. Although I had always baked my crust, this time I decided to make a no bake graham cracker crust recipe. I had heard that baked crusts stay together because the sugar melts and then hardens again, and that no bake crusts hold their shape because once the melted butter cools down, it re-solidifies and holds the crust together. I knew that my followers would likely be interested in a graham cracker pie crust that was no bake, so for the lemon pie I decided to just mix the ingredients together, press them down into the pie crust, and then refrigerate the crust. After the crust had chilled for a few hours, I then made the pie filling and poured it into the no bake crust.
Although the filling for the lemon pie set perfectly well, the crust did not hold together as well as I had hoped. In fact, when I went to cut the first piece, it fell apart! The taste was very similar, but I think that baking the crust adds a bit of extra flavor because the sugar caramelizes a bit. I used the exact same recipe, so I assume that the crust fell apart because no bake graham cracker crusts do not hold their shape. Now that I have seen the difference, I will always bake my crust.
As you can see, this pie crust was both delicious and versatile, and can even be used as a no bake recipe. If you are looking for the perfect graham cracker crust, you should definitely give this one a try.
Graham Cracker Crust Recipe
Graham Cracker Crust Recipe
Notes
As I stated in the article, I recommend baking the crust because it seems to hold together better when cut. The sugar also seems to caramelize a bit in the oven, making the flavor more interesting.
Ingredients
- 4.8 ounces graham crackers (142 grams)
- 1 stick butter (113 grams)
- 3 Tablespoons sugar (about 45 grams)
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Crush graham crackers (I put them in a plastic bag and crushed them with a rolling pin)
- Melt butter
- Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar, cinnamon, and salt
- Press mixture into a 9-inch pie plate
- *If you want to bake the crust, bake at 375 F for 10 minutes
- *If you want to make a no bake crust, simply put into the refrigerator and chill for 2-3 hours. Then add your filling.
YouTube Video
Be sure to watch my video tutorial:
Links
Emmimadeinjapan’s YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/emmymadeinjapan
