Graham Cracker Crusts
From America's Test Kitchen Season 4: Truck Stop Favorites
Overview:
Graham cracker crusts are a common dessert crust, but we wondered if we could crumble a different type of cookie or use a store-bought crust instead.
Store-bought crusts are a tempting way to save time. Unfortunately, we were unimpressed by their unappetizing pale color, sandy texture, and bland, artificial flavor. This is probably due to the fact that all of them are made with vegetable shortening instead of butter, like our homemade crusts.
After dismissing store-bought crusts, we experimented by crumbling more delicate cookies. We tried a variety but found that they all produced crusts that were too dense, chewy, and overly sweet. We suggest you stick with the graham crackers.
Mixing melted butter with ground graham crackers is the best way to get a good-flavored crust. We prefer graham crackers made with molasses, since those made with honey yield crusts that are on the sweet side. We especially like the hardy, molasses flavor of our winner, Nabisco Original Graham Crackers. Packaged graham cracker crumbs are an acceptable… read more
Graham cracker crusts are a common dessert crust, but we wondered if we could crumble a different type of cookie or use a store-bought crust instead.
Store-bought crusts are a tempting way to save time. Unfortunately, we were unimpressed by their unappetizing pale color, sandy texture, and bland, artificial flavor. This is probably due to the fact that all of them are made with vegetable shortening instead of butter, like our homemade crusts.
After dismissing store-bought crusts, we experimented by crumbling more delicate cookies. We tried a variety but found that they all produced crusts that were too dense, chewy, and overly sweet. We suggest you stick with the graham crackers.
Mixing melted butter with ground graham crackers is the best way to get a good-flavored crust. We prefer graham crackers made with molasses, since those made with honey yield crusts that are on the sweet side. We especially like the hardy, molasses flavor of our winner, Nabisco Original Graham Crackers. Packaged graham cracker crumbs are an acceptable substitute to making your own, but we couldn’t find any made by our top graham cracker brand.
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