PERSPECTIVES/ THE CONSULTING GROUP, LLC
  • Home
    • Who We Serve
    • How We Work
    • Services >
      • Concept Development
      • Strategic Planning
      • Brand Development
      • Operations
      • HACCP / Food Safety
      • Menu / Product Development
      • Marketing / Research
      • Design
      • Market Planning / Site Analysis
  • Why Perspectives?
    • About Us
    • Principals
    • Mission Statement
    • Code of Ethics
  • Clients
    • Testimonials
    • Client List
  • Contact Us
    • Phone, Address & Contact
  • Covid-19 Survival Guide
  • Perspectives On Food

Cooking Lesson #151 Classic Crushed Crumb Crusts

10/28/2020

0 Comments

 

For Cheesecakes and Pies

Crushed Cookie Crumb CrustCrushed Cookie Crumb Crust
How you doin’? The end of the year is not only about apple and pumpkin pies… many of us love cheesecakes and frozen pies that don’t easily lend themselves to rolled out pastry crusts. As a Consumer Research Food & Restaurant Consultant, I suggest to our friends and clients that they might want to prepare a crushed crumb crust. The most recognizable is a graham cracker crust, most commonly used for cheesecakes.
 
These crushed crumb crusts are not only perfect for cheesecakes, but also key lime pies, cream pies, ice cream pies and frozen pies all of which call for tender crumb crusts made of crushed crackers, wafers or cookies instead of rolled pastry dough crusts to hold the fillings. Below are two of my favorites that work for a variety of fillings—Graham Cracker Crumb Crust and Salty Peanut-Pretzel Crumb Crust. Marry these two crusts up with your favorite filling. After baking, these two crusts also work well with any Instant Pot prepared pie.
 
                                          Graham Cracker Crumb Crust
Ingredients
1-1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (about 15 graham crackers)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
 
Directions
  1. Preheat your oven to 350⁰ F.
  2. Break the graham crackers into smaller pieces. Using a food processor, pulse in short bursts until you've got coarse crumbs. (You can always do it the old-fashioned way by putting the graham cracker pieces in a large, heavy-duty resealable plastic bag. Leave a small opening in the top of the bag to allow air to escape. Using a little pressure, roll a rolling pin over the plastic bag. Continue rolling the pin over the bag until the cookies are broken into coarse crumbs).
  3. Add the sugars, cinnamon and salt to the food processor bowl and pulse, followed by the melted butter, pulse again. Adding a bit of salt enhances the sweet flavor of the crumb crust. (if you’re not working with a food processor, work the butter into the crumbs with a wooden spoon or your hands until the butter is evenly distributed.
  4. Deposit the crumb mixture into a 9-inch springform pan or pie pan; there's no need to grease the pan.
  5. Use your hands or a flat-bottomed glass to press the mixture evenly into the bottom and sides (if desired) of the pan. To avoid crumbs getting into the filling, press firmly to ensure the crust is well compacted.
  6. Bake the crust for 8-10 minutes.
  7. Let it cool completely before adding the filling.

ChefSecret: Graham cracker is the standard, but you can use shortbread, chocolate cookies (Oreos), chocolate wafers, vanilla wafers, gingersnaps (I love ginger snaps), pretzels, cereal, or nuts, too—the basic method will stay the same.
 
                                       Salty Peanut-Pretzel Crumb Crust
Ingredients
2 cups mini pretzels
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons roasted, salted peanuts
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
 
Directions
  1. Preheat your oven to 350⁰F.
  2. Add pretzels, peanuts and brown sugar to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse until the mixture resembles very coarse sand with a few larger pieces remaining.
  3. Pulse in the butter until well combined.
  4. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.
  5. Bake the crust until light golden and fragrant, about 6 to 8 minutes.
  6. Set pans on a rack to cool completely before filling.
 
Covid-19 Quip of the Day:  “I’ve had a lot of things to think about over the last 6 months.  One is, if a speech impaired child signs swear words, does his mother have to wash his hands with soap?”
-------------------------------------------
Do you have a question or comment?  Do you want to share a favorite recipe or pictures with our readers?  Send your thoughts to [email protected].  All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
-------------------------------------------
To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind—that’s the American way.  If you have a little extra in your pocket to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thanks for reading.

#Dessert #Baking #Crust #Cheesecake #Pie #GrahamCrackers #Peanuts #Pretzels #NPB  #NationalPeanutBoard #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup

                                               ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2020

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    For over 4 decades collaboration and vision have been the cornerstones of our approach to developing innovative solutions. We fuel innovation, uncover opportunities, discover trends and embrace sustainability, turning imaginative ideas into profitable realities.

    We are expert in the following areas: Strategic Planning, Concept and Brand Development, Market Research, Operations Systems Planning, Operations Programming, Menu Planning & Inventory Optimization, Product Development, Training Programs, HACCP / Sanitation / Food Safety, Co-Packer Evaluation & Coordination, Food Processing & Facility Plant Design.

    Categories

    All
    Air Fryer
    Appetizers
    Baking
    Beef
    B'Fast/Brunch
    Chicken
    Cocktails
    Condiments
    Confections
    Dessert
    Dinner
    Entrees
    Gluten Free
    Gluten-Free
    Happy Hour
    Health & Beauty
    Healthy Recipes
    Holiday Recipes
    Instant Pot
    Instant-pot
    Keto
    Kids
    Lunch
    Lunch/Brunch
    Pets
    Pork
    Poultry
    Poulty
    Salads
    Sauces
    Seafood
    Sides
    Snacks
    Soups
    Sous Vide
    Special Edition
    Turkey
    Veal
    Vegetarian

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020

www.perspectives-la.com
Copyright © 2021 Perspectives/The Consulting Group, LLC  | Henderson, NV 89052 |   310-477-8877
  • Home
    • Who We Serve
    • How We Work
    • Services >
      • Concept Development
      • Strategic Planning
      • Brand Development
      • Operations
      • HACCP / Food Safety
      • Menu / Product Development
      • Marketing / Research
      • Design
      • Market Planning / Site Analysis
  • Why Perspectives?
    • About Us
    • Principals
    • Mission Statement
    • Code of Ethics
  • Clients
    • Testimonials
    • Client List
  • Contact Us
    • Phone, Address & Contact
  • Covid-19 Survival Guide
  • Perspectives On Food