The Perfect Graham Cracker Crust

Buttery, lightly sweet, and so simple, this is the perfect graham cracker crust recipe. It’s just right for any recipe calling for a graham cracker crust!

I’ve made many a graham cracker crust in my day for a myriad of different recipes. Cheesecakes. Pies. Dessert bars.

This recipe happens to be brilliantly simple and it doesn’t crumble into brittle pieces when filled and served. It’s perfect!

Graham Cracker Crumbs

This recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs.

If you take nothing else from my never-ending advice, let it be this: don’t use store bought graham cracker crumbs for this recipe. Crushing the graham crackers yourself (or letting a blender do it) will result in perfectly textured graham cracker crumbs.

I like to grind them into coarse crumbs with some slightly bigger pieces for texture. If the pieces are too bit and coarse, they won’t hold together well for the crust. But avoid grinding them into pure sawdust. You want somewhere in the middle.

You can go the old-fashioned route using a rolling pin and bag or use a blender or food processor.

Other Ingredients

Pour the crumbs into a bowl and add:

• brown sugar
• a bit of flour
• butter

The flour helps bind the crust ingredients together. If you are not baking the crust, leave out the flour.

Also, this crust is very lightly sweet. I use brown sugar for flavor and texture. If you want it sweeter, simply add a few more tablespoons sugar.

9-Inch Pie Crust

This crust fits perfectly in a 9-inch pie plate. For larger pie plates, increase the recipe as needed.

I dump the buttery crumbs into a pie plate use my fingers to press the crumbs lightly up the sides and across the bottom so that it’s a mostly even layer across the sides and bottom of the pie plate.

Press and Bake

Then I take a measuring cup (usually a 1/3 cup measure) and use it to press the crumbs tightly across the bottom and the sides.

I almost always bake this graham cracker crust. It helps it hold it’s shape once filled, sliced and served.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes.

You can leave the crust unbaked as well (as mentioned above, omit the tablespoon flour if not baking the crust0.

Perfect Graham Cracker Crust

This crust is perfect for so many recipes:

And any other recipe that calls for a 9-inch graham cracker crust.

I happen to love buttery graham cracker crusts with my whole soul, and I’m glad to finally have a resting place for the best of the best.

FYI: It’s also not against the law to increase all the ingredients by a quarter or a half if you want a more prominent graham cracker crust for your favorite pie or cheesecake. In my world, there’s no such thing as too much crust. 😉

Perfect Graham Cracker Crust

Yield: 1 9-inch crust

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 25 mins

• 1 ½ cups (150-158 g) graham cracker crumbs (about 14 rectangle graham crackers) – see note
• 3 tablespoons (40 g) brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon (9 g) flour (see note)
• 6 tablespoons (85 g) butter, melted (I use salted)

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

• Combine the graham crackers, sugar, and flour in a medium bowl. Stir to combine.

• Add the butter and stir until the graham cracker crumbs are evenly moistened.

• Scatter the crumbs across the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate. Use your fingers to lightly press the crumbs into an even layer on the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate.

• Grab a 1/3- or 1/2-cup measuring cup and use the bottom of the measuring cup to press the crumbs into a tighter layer across the bottom and into the sides of the pie plate.

• Bake the crust for 8-10 minutes until fragrant and set (don’t let it brown too much).

Graham Cracker Crumbs: I highly recommend crushing graham crackers into crumbs for this recipe rather than using storebought graham cracker crumbs. Storebought crumbs are very fine (almost sandy) in texture and I think a homemade graham cracker crust is better with a bit more texture. I use about 13-14 rectangle graham crackers for the 1 1/2 cups crumbs called for in the recipe. 
Sugar: this crust is very lightly sweet. If you want it sweeter, add a couple more tablespoons sugar.
Flour: if you are not baking the crust, omit the flour from the recipe. 

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Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe