Reliable Cookie-to-Butter Ratio for Crumb Crusts
I'm trying to find a general and reliable Cookie-to-Butter ratio (or weights) that I can use when I make crumb crusts for no-bake pies.
My old baking textbook, On Baking: A Textbook of Baking & Pastry Fundamentals (Third Edition) by Labensky, Martel & van Damme gives the ratios for a basic crumb crust as follows: 4 parts cookie crumbs to 2 parts sugar to 1 part melted butter. So, for a single 9" deep dish graham cracker pie crust, they recommend going with 8 oz. graham cracker crumbs + 4 ounces sugar + 2 oz. butter (blah, blah...food processor...pressed into the pie plate and baked at 350° F for 10-12 minutes).
OK, I have a few problems with those amounts: (1) 8 oz. of crumbs is WAY too much for a single pie crust (5-6 oz. is plenty), (2) using half as much sugar as crumbs is WAY too much sugar for my taste (I go with more like a quarter), & (3) I can never seem to get a crust to hold together with that amount of butter. Lately I've been going with 6 oz. cookie crumbs + 2 oz. sugar + 2.5 oz. melted butter - I'm pretty sure I can do better than that.
Ignoring my first two complaints - I can get the cookie and sugar amounts right w/o a problem - does anyone have a reliable Cookie-to-Butter ratio that works well for cookie crumb crusts in general? I don't want links to recipes (there are recipes out there with butter ranging from around 15% to nearly 60% of the cookie crumb weight), I want to hear from people who have had repeated success with specific crumb crust formularies (in weights, not volumes).
In a perfect world, I would love to hear of a trustworthy Cookie-to-Butter ratio that applies equally well to most cookie types (I almost never use graham crackers - I'm more of a Nilla Wafer and Animal Cracker kinda guy who dreams of one day branching out into ginger snap territory).
Best Answer
I don't know that this is a perfect ratio, but I will say it's my favorite crumb crust. It's from America's Test Kitchen's Lemon Cheesecake.
- 5 ounces Nabisco Barnum's Animal Crackers or Social Tea Biscuits
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and kept warm
So, 5 oz crumbs, 1.5 oz sugar, 2 oz butter.
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What is a typical ratio for a crumb crust?
The generic ratio that's used to make a crumb crust is: One part melted butter. Two parts sugar. Four parts crumbs.How do you keep a graham cracker crust from crumbling?
Pour in melted butter and stir well to combine. The butter is the key to ensuring you have a graham cracker crust that doesn't fall apart!How do you make cheesecake crust cookies?
How To Make Cookie Pie CrustHow are soggy crust bottoms prevented?
Add a Layer Sprinkle dried breadcrumbs or crushed cornflakes, or other types of cereal, on the bottom crust before filling and baking in the oven. This will prevent the filling from turning the crust soggy.How to Make a Crumb Crust | You Can Cook That| Allrecipes.com
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Answer 2
I just made a crust the other day that was one of my better crusts. 1 1/2 cups crumbs, 1/3 cup sugar and 5 tbsp. Butter, melted for no- bake crust and 6 tbsp. for a baked crust. If I use Nilla wafers, I don't add sugar, in which case I reduce the butter to 4 tbsp and see how well it holds together if I squeeze a little together. If it's too crumbly, I melt half a tbsp more and mix that in. I can still add the other half if it isn't enough.
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