The first section of recipes in Pie is nothing but crusts - something like 30 different recipes for pastry crusts, crumb crusts, nut crusts, and even a meringue crust. One of the basic non-pastry crusts is a graham cracker crust, which I used under the Vanilla Cream Pie. At that time, I noted that the crust is bit tricky to assemble, but the flavor is great.
1¾ cups graham cracker crumbs (10-12 full size crackers)2 Tbs brown sugar½ tsp cinnamon (or more - I just shook some in)
pinch of salt
6 Tbs butter, melted (if using salted butter, omit the pinch of salt)
Combine dry ingredients, add melted butter, and incorporate well to form evenly dampened crumbs. Press (as evenly as possible) into a lightly buttered pie plate, using the back of a spoon to tamp down the crumbs. Refrigerate for 10 minutes while you preheat your oven to 350°. Bake the crust for 7 minutes, then cool completely before filling.
Two notable changes from the standard graham cracker crust are the brown sugar and cinnamon. I loved the cinnamon flavor, and Tiffany picked out honey highlights, which is probably attributable to the brown sugar.
Haedrich includes a variation on this - swapping out Nilla wafers for the graham crackers. Add 2 tablespoons of flour to the dry ingredients, and drizzle in 1-2 teaspoons of water when blending to help things hold together. I imagine this variation would go well with a banana cream pie.
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