Basic Crumb Crust

Name: Basic Crumb Crust
Yield: One 9-inch / 23-cm pie
Ingredients: 210 g / 1¾ cups cookie, cereal, chip, or cracker crumbs; Up to 50 g / ¼ cup granulated sugar (optional); 2 g / ½ teaspoon fine sea salt; 85 g / 3 ounces / 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more if needed

By Erin Jeanne McDowell

October 27, 2020

two whipped cream and carameltopped custard pies with cups of tea

Photo by Mark Weinberg

Crumb crusts are even easier than press-in cookie crusts. You don’t even have to bake them—see the variation at right. The crumbs can be made out of cookies, crackers, cereal, pretzels, even potato chips! Sometimes sugar or other flavorings are added to the crumbs (here the sugar is optional), and then fat (usually melted butter) is added to bind the mixture to form a crust. The crumbs can be coarse, for a crunchier texture, or finer, for a smoother texture. Different base ingredients will behave differently, so the first time I test a crumb crust with a new ingredient, I always have a little extra on hand in case I need more crumbs, or a little extra melted butter, should it be needed.

Crumb crusts don’t generally require chilling before baking, but you can refrigerate for up to 1 hour or freeze for 15 minutes, if desired, to firm them up before baking.

Recipe notes

Palets Bretons

Palets bretons are oversize cookies that feature butter, and because they’re from Brittany, they’re traditionally made with beurre salé, salted butter.

Dulce de Leche

Make this versatile caramel at home with our slow-simmered method using milk and sugar—or take one of two sweetened condensed milk shortcuts.

Grape Dumplings

Native American people made these with cornmeal dumplings, simmering them with wild grapes, which were harvested at their peak sweetness.

Mississippi Mud Cake

This cake was created from thrift and was supposedly named after its appearance, which reminded people of the muddy Mississippi River bottom.

Île Flottante

Originally called omelette à la neige (snow omelet) in reference to the fluffy snow-like appearance of the meringue, île flottante (floating island) has a lengthy history that dates back to the 17th century.

5-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Yes, it's a shortcut in a microwave. It's also a gooey, fudgy, wildly good chocolate cake.

Fufu

Fufu is a dish that has been passed down through many generations and is seen as a symbol of Ghanaian identity and heritage. Making fufu traditionally is a very laborious task; this recipe mimics some of that hard work but with a few home-cook hacks that make for a far easier time.

Lemon Icebox Pie

Easy lemon icebox pie recipe with a graham cracker crust and whipped cream topping.