Can You Bake A Graham Cracker Crust For An Hour?

A baked graham cracker crust is one of the best pie crusts, with a sweet and buttery taste, as well as that recognizable crunch.

If you smash up graham crackers and add melted butter, you have yourself a delicious graham cracker crust. You can buy a premade graham cracker crust, or you can make your own graham cracker crust.

Either way, it is an easy pie crust to master, pairing well with a cherry pie filling, strawberry pie, or any no bake filling. Let’s find out how to make a graham cracker crust, and how long you should bake it for.

What Are Graham Crackers?

Graham crackers are crack cookies that are made with graham flour. They are crunchy, sweet, and they go perfectly with s’mores. They make an excellent baked crust for a lot of pies.

They would suit most pies, from key lime pie, to apple pie. You can use flavored graham crackers, but the taste of an original graham cracker is delicious and sweet.

In the UK, the equivalent to a graham cracker are digestive biscuits. Digestive biscuits have the same crunchy and oaty texture, and they are often used for cheesecake.

How To Make A Graham Cracker Pie Crust

The main ingredient in pie crust is graham crackers, and it is super simple to make. All you need is graham crackers, and melted butter.

If you cannot buy premade graham crackers because you live somewhere else, you can substitute digestive biscuits instead. These will also make a suitable graham crust.

Firstly, you will need around three graham cracker sheets. Crush graham crackers in a bag with a rolling pin, and this will break them up into small enough crumbs. You could also use a food processor to do this step.

Once you have the crushed graham crackers, grab some light brown sugar, and some unsalted butter. You can use granulated sugar, but light brown sugar crystals create a better taste and texture for the graham cracker crust.

You can add spices such as cinnamon, too. Once you have all of these components, you are ready to create your pie shell. Simply crush the brown sugar with the butter, forming a cracker crust. You can use a rolling pin for the sugar crumbs, too.

Press down on the mixture, filling it out in the pie pan or pie plate. If you follow these recipe directions, you will have a perfect crust. Additionally, the graham crackers will absorb moisture in the melted butter, creating a solid crust for you.

Once you have done this, press into the pie plate and pop it in the oven. Bake for around seven minutes, or until the graham cracker crust is golden brown.

Let it cool completely, and then put it in the refrigerator. You will have a chilled crust, ready for the filling. You could also do this for savory pies, and mix up the ingredients.

How Long To Bake Graham Cracker Crust?

If you have a store bought pie crust, you won’t need to worry about this too much. A baked crust is the way to ensure that the pie filling stays inside the pie crust.

You should not bake the pie crust for any more than ten minutes, and you should not bake it for an hour. If you do, the pie crust will burn. Alternatively, you do not even have to bake the crust.

You can use the crust as a no bake crust for a no bake pie. A no bake pie means that you can chill the crust, and put the pie filling inside.

How To Use The Graham Cracker Pie Crust

You can use the graham cracker crust for many different graham cracker crust recipe directions. The graham cracker crumbs will form a good base for all fillings, whether this is an ice cream pie, a key lime pie, or a cherry pie filling.

Graham cracker crusts are versatile, and you can chill your baked graham cracker crust for an hour, and fill it with the filling.

Alternatively, you do not have to bake it at all. A baked pie is a good idea, but not all baked pies would work well with the crust.

You could fill it with ice cream, or pumpkin pie. Pumpkin pie is a good choice for a graham cracker crust. So many pies are formed with regular pie crust, but a graham cracker crust gives a unique flavor and crunch. Some of your favorite recipes are probably made with graham cracker crumbs.

If you want a crunchier crust, instead of baking for an hour, try using egg white wash, and baking for ten minutes. This will give the golden color you are looking for.

If you are baking a pie within the crust, follow the recipe instructions, and try to bake the graham cracker crust when you bake the actual pie. This will ensure that the crust will not burn. There is no need to pre bake the crust in this case.

Can You Bake Vegan Graham Cracker Crust?

Find out whether graham crackers are vegan, and then you can take the next steps. If they are vegan, use vegan butter, for the best graham cracker crust recipe.

The best graham cracker crust can still be vegan, and you can still make a delicious baked pie for any occasion.

Simply use granulated sugar or brown sugar, and vegan melted butter. Granulated sugar may be better for a vegan recipe, as it will help the saturated fat bind together more.

Final Thoughts

A graham cracker crust is one of the best crusts for any kind of pie, whether that is a baked graham cracker crust, or a no bake pie crust.

You can use this crust for a variety of recipes, and you will only need butter, graham crackers, sugar, and a pie plate. We hope you enjoyed our recipe!