Description
This is the perfect recipe for a super easy homemade graham cracker crust. Made with graham cracker crumbs and toasty brown butter, This post walks you through a step by step method of how to make a quick graham cracker crust, and all the tips and tricks for a perfectly shaped crumb crust that holds its shape when used for a pie. This post also includes alternatives to graham crackers!
Ingredients
This recipe makes enough for a 9" (23cm) Pie Pan. For scaling, please see the notes section below.
- 180g graham crackers, processed into fine crumbs
- 20g granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 125g unsalted butter, cold from the fridge is fine.
Instructions
This recipe makes enough for a 9" (23cm) Pie Pan. For scaling, please see the notes section below.
- Preheat the oven to 350°f / 180°c.
- Combine the graham crackers, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Place the butter in a medium saucepan, and place over medium heat. Cook until the butter has melted, and then continue to cook, swirling the pan often and stirring with a whisk, until the butter foams and turns golden brown and nutty - this should take 3-4 minutes.
- Weigh out 95g (see Notes section below if you are scaling the recipe) of the brown butter into the sugar and graham cracker mixture.
- Stir with a spatula to combine. The texture should resemble wet sand. Some graham crackers are more or less absorbent than others so adjust the butter as needed.
- Place 160g of the crust mixture into the pan you are using - this quantity will be used to build the sides of your crust.
- Pat the crust mixture onto the sides of the pan, then use a straight sided measuring cup or drinking glass to help press it evenly against the edges of the pan. You want to make it nice and compact. You can use the fingers or thumb on the other hand to help keep a nice even top edge on your crust.
- Add the remainder of the crust mixture and spread evenly over the bottom of the pie pan, then compact down with whatever flat tool you are using. Make sure that there is a good join between the edges and sides of the crust - if needed, use your fingers to make sure that it is all well sealed.
- Bake the graham cracker crust for 10 minutes, until golden brown and set. If you are using this crust for a no-bake pie recipe, bake for a further 2-3 minutes until nicely golden. If you are baking the crust again for a recipe like lemon pie or key lime pie, remember the crust will bake again when you bake the filling, so remove from the oven when it is lightly golden brown.
- Use immediately in recipe, or store until ready to use.
Notes
Scaling Graham Cracker Crust
The recipe listed is enough for a 9" pie pan, or a 9" removable bottom tart pan. I prefer to scale it depending on the size of the pan, or how much I need. Here are a few options:
If you want more crust, or you are using a slightly larger (10") pie pan or a 10" (25cm) fluted tart pan (use this quantity for Banoffee Pie)
Do 1.5x the recipe: 270g graham cracker crumbs, 30g granulated sugar, 190g butter (which browns down to 135g for the amount you measure out). If you are putting this into a pan and doing the sides first, use 240g crumbs to do the sides and use the rest for the base.
For a 9" square pan (Use this quantity for Pumpkin Pie Bars)
Double the recipe: Use 360g graham cracker crumbs, 40g sugar and 250g butter, which will brown down to 180g for the quantity you weigh out. Press into a pan lined with a parchment paper sling (grease the pan then line with two pieces of baking paper, extending over the sides for easy removal). Bake for 16-17 minutes until the crust is nicely golden brown. Cool completely before using for your recipe.
You will notice that there are two quantities of butter in the recipe - the initial quantity of butter, then a second measurement in the method which is the quantity of brown butter. The larger initial quantity is to account for water loss when browning - read more about that in my FAQ.
Graham Cracker Alternatives:
I tested this recipe using digestive biscuits and it worked great. You just need to reduce the butter quantity down to 75g of brown butter in order to account for the fact that digestives aren't as absorbent as graham crackers. You will need to add an extra 2-3 minutes onto the bake time too. If you are scaling the recipe to use a different sized pan make sure that you scale the 75g of butter for digestives, not the amount written in the notes for graham crackers (for example if you are doing a 9" square pan, use 150g brown butter)