Homemade Graham Cracker Crust – Easy Pie Crust

Make your first Homemade Graham Cracker Crust just once and you’ll never buy ready-made crusts again! There are only 3 ingredients and it goes together really easily.

Your homemade crust will stay together better than store-bought too. It’s nicely tender and yet won’t fall apart like purchased crusts sometimes do.

You might also like to check the ingredients list of your store-bought crust!

There’s worlds of recipes with graham cracker crust so learning how to make your own is worthwhile.

How To Make Homemade Graham Cracker Crust

Making a pie crust from graham crackers couldn’t be easier.

Just finely crush the graham crackers along with the sugar. Add the melted butter and blend well. Press into your pie plate and then refrigerate or bake.

You now have a graham cracker pie crust! Wasn’t that easy?

Do You Have To Bake Graham Cracker Crust

Whether to bake your crust or not depends on the type of pie you’re making and your personal preference. For a no-bake pie, you should always bake the crust.

Store-bought crusts are always baked.

I usually bake mine but it’s not absolutely necessary. A chilled crust will work for most baked pie applications.

There’s a big difference between baking and not baking your crust.

When you bake the butter and sugar melt and blend with the graham crackers. When it cools the crackers, sugar and butter have combined into one and the crust holds together well.

A baked shell slices better and is easier to remove from the pan.

When you chill a crust it’s mostly the butter that’s holding things together. The butter solidifies during the chilling.

You can make a chilled crust hold together a little better by slightly heating the pie plate before you add the crust. The heated plate will melt the butter slightly and allow it to distribute into the crust better.

Now when you bake your pie, the ingredients of the chilled crust will melt together and then solidify when you cool your pie. However, it doesn’t seem to slice as well as a baked crust.

So, like I said, to bake or not is a matter of preference.

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Homemade Graham Cracker Crust Recipe

Try this recipe once and you'll never use store bought crusts again!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Homemade Graham Cracker Crust

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 6

Calories 95 kcal

Ingredients

• 12 full-size graham crackers about 6 1/2 ounces
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) butter
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon optional
• 1/4 cup water optional

Instructions

Step One Crumble the Graham Crackers:

1. Break up the graham crackers and place them in the bowl of a food processor. Add the sugar and pulse the processor to break up the crackers finer. Then process continuously until the crackers are really fine crumbs.
2. The food processor does a better job but you can alternatively place the crackers and sugar in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to crush.
3. You should have about 2 cups of graham cracker crumbs.

Step Two Add The Butter:

1. Transfer the cracker crumbs to a mixing bowl. Melt the butter and pour over the crumbs. Stir until the crumbs are evenly coated and look wet. They should hold together in a clump if you press them in your fist. If they don't add and mix in water a tablespoon at a time until they do.

Step Three Press into a Pie Pan:

1. Heat the oven to 375° F. Pour the crumbs into a 9-inch pie pan and press them evenly along the bottoms and sides. The bottom of a measuring cup works well for the pressing.

Step Four Bake the Crust:

1. For any type of no-bake pie, like Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie, you need to pre-bake the crust. Place the crust in the pre-heated oven and bake until it's fragrant and dry looking. This should take about 8 to 10 minutes. Let it cool completely before filling.
2. If you're making a pie that requires baking you can just fill the shell and then bake. Follow your recipe instructions!

Easy Pie Crust Tips

You can make your pie crust ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for a few days. The crust will also freeze well for a month or so wrapped in foil. No need to thaw. Just fill and bake!

Graham crackers are the most popular of this type of crust, but you don’t really have to use graham crackers. Most any cookie or cracker that is dry and crumbles easily will work.

You can use your favorite pie recipe and change it up just by changing the cookie crust! Ginger snaps and vanilla wafers come to mind. Make a chocolate pie with chocolate cookies for double chocolate.

You can use a graham cracker crust in other types of pans too. Almost any type of pan that you can press the crust into will work.

Enjoy!

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How To Make Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix

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