PAULA DEEN’S BEST CAKES & PIES^14Homemadú Crum£ CrusȬ
Basic Crumb Crust
Makes 1 (9-inch) piecrust
1½ cups graham cracker or other cookie crumbs
¼ cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients
until well combined. Using the back of a measuring
cup, fi rmly press mixture into bottom and up sides
of a 9-inch pie plate. - Bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
Let cool completely on a wire rack.
CANDY BARS
Crushed hard candy bars such as Heath and Butterfi nger
are a sweet addition to traditional crumb crusts.COOKIES AND CRACKERS
Use your favorite cookies and crackers for a special
crumb crust. Vanilla wafers, chocolate sandwich cookies,
gingersnaps, chocolate wafers, peanut butter sandwich
cookies, shortbread, and even saltines and buttery round
crackers work great as crumb crusts.NUTS AND MORSELS
Finely chopped nuts and chocolate, peanut butter, and
butterscotch morsels are also fun mix-ins for crumb
crusts. Almonds, pecans, walnuts, peanuts, macadamias,
cashews, and even coconut all work well.Bakinğ Tip
Add or reduce sugar to taste in the crumb crust depending on
the cookie, candy bar, or other mix-in you use. Ready-made
cookie and graham cracker crusts can be used in a pinch;
they’re available in regular, deep-dish, and miniature sizes.