You can buy a ready-made graham cracker crusts at the grocery or baking store. But a homemade crust is always better. Graham cracker crust is the usual base of so many delicious desserts, so it’s essential to have it done nice and well-made. It is easy to master. Can you bake a graham cracker crust? I bet you want to know. Read on, and let’s find out.
Making the Best Graham Cracker Crust
Graham cracker crusts are simple. To make that crunchy, buttery, and delicious graham cracker crust, you only need a few ingredients. Can you bake a graham cracker crust? Here is how to make and bake a graham cracker crust.
- Grind the Crackers
Start by grinding up your graham crackers you can use a mini food processor to do this. You need ten graham crackers or ten full sheet rectangle crackers. The ten full sheets when crushed are about 1 and 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs. You may use honey flavor graham crackers, chocolate, cinnamon, or whatever is your choice. Chocolate flavor graham crackers would make a good crust for your strawberry cheesecake bars. You can use a blender to grind up the graham crackers. Or do it the old way by crushing them in a zipped top bag with a rolling pin. Make sure you close the zipped top bag. You may also use a blender for crushing graham crackers. - Mix the Ingredients
Start mixing the crushed graham crackers with 1/3 cup of granulated sugar and five tablespoons of melted butter using a fork. Use the right amount of butter in your graham cracker crust. It is not only for flavor because it also serves as a binding agent. If your graham cracker tends to fall apart, there isn’t enough butter to hold the crumbs together. You will notice that as the crust sets, the sugar crystals assist the butter in binding the crumbs together. Use brown sugar instead of the granulated sugar in this graham cracker crust recipe; it gives an extra sweet flavor. As you mix the ingredients all together, the mixture will be thick, sandy, and rough. - Press the Mixture Well to Make It Compact
To make a great graham cracker crust, press it well into a pie plate, pack it down because the coat needs to be tight and compact. You may use a flat-bottomed small measuring cup to help pack it down and smooth out the surface. You could certainly use your fingers, though, but the use of a measuring cup is much easier and creates a tighter and smooth crust. You have to make sure also that you pack the edges as well. - Bake It. Can you bake a graham cracker crust? If you want to make a baked pie or dessert, pre-bake this crust for 10 minutes at 300°F or 7-8 minutes at 350°F. Let it cool completely. Then, fill the crust chill according to your recipe. A baked graham cracker crust will be crunchy and be less crumbly. But if your choice is to make a no-bake pie or dessert crust, you must chill this crust for at least two hours before filling it. Chilling the crust before adding your no-bake filling will solidify the melted butter/sugar mixture, ensuring a compact crust. So, can you bake a graham cracker crust? Definitely yes.
Some Useful Tips in Baking Graham Cracker Crust
If your crust tends to crumble, make sure that you are baking it for long enough and at the right temperature. Mix the crumbs evenly after the butter is added. Carefully check that everything is wet, or it won’t hold. If your graham cracker is too hard, you may have pressed it hard too hard in getting it into shape. You may have also overcooked your crust if it is hard, so try to lower the temperature, or you may shorten the baking time next time.
Conclusion
Can you bake a graham cracker crust? Absolutely yes. It will give you the most excellent and tastiest crust. Graham crackers are versatile, that is why so many pies can be made to pair with it. You can fill it with that yummy creamy s’ mores chocolate pudding or even an easy blueberry-lemon dessert filling. Try as more recipes as you can using the baked graham cracker crust and taste the difference. Find out more about crusts.