How To Make A Gingersnap Pie Crust ~ a simple cookie crumb crust perfect for holiday pies and no bake desserts ~ just as easy, but so much tastier than a plain graham cracker crust!
Try this variation out on your favorite pies that call for a crumb crust, I think you’ll be amazed at how much personality it adds to so many different recipes. Ginger goes with lemon, chocolate, and fruit of all kinds, so experiment away! And let’s face it, while we love a classic pie pastry crust we’re not always up for the work. My gingersnap pie crust rules during the holidays!
why use gingersnaps for a pie crust?
- Perfect crumbly texture: Gingersnaps are crisp dry cookies, so they crumble beautifully.
- Fabulous flavor: When you use gingersnap cookie crumbs to make a crust you have instant flavor built right in from the get-go, no need to spice or season any further. The warm flavors of cinnamon, cloves, and ginger add another flavor dimension to your recipe.
- Gorgeous color! The ‘spicy’ color is lovely and adds to the look of your dessert.
how to make a gingersnap pie crust
- Load your gingersnaps into a full sized food processor.
- Pulse/process until the crumbs are even and fine. The pulsing action helps break up the crackers evenly.
- Add the nuts and sugar and process until smooth.
- Add the melted butter and give it a final process until the crumbs are moist throughout. It may still look ‘sandy’ but should hold together when pressed between your fingers.
no processor?
You can load your crackers in a heavy duty zip lock baggie and smash them with a rolling pin. Take your time to get all the crumbs finely crushed. You can chop the walnuts very finely by hand, and proceed with the recipe in a bowl.
the best gingersnaps for a gingersnap pie crust
I like to use the extra thin crispy gingersnaps for this recipe, and my go-to brand is Nyakers, from Sweden, but any gingersnap cookies will work, so go with what you can find. The crumbs freeze well, too, so you can make them ahead for later use. Just pack them into heavy duty zip lock bags and squeeze out the extra air.
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Gingersnap Crumb Pie Crust
Video
Ingredients
- 5 ounces gingersnaps, (or about 1 heaping cup gingersnap cookie crumbs)
- 1 cup walnuts, optional – (you can omit the nuts and add 1/2 cup more gingersnap crumbs and 1 Tbsp more butter)
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter or grease a 9 inch pie plate.
- Put the gingersnaps in a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process until they are fine crumbs. You may need to pulse the machine as well to get all the cookie pieces crushed. See note below if you don't have a food processor and would like to do this by hand.)
- Add the walnuts, and sugar and process again until everything is finely ground. Add the butter and process briefly to combine.
- Pat the crust into the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate, and up the sides. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Set aside to cool before filling.
Notes
Nutrition
pies to make with your gingersnap crust!
- Lemon Ice Box Pie
- Grapefruit Gingersnap Pie
- Cranberry Gingersnap Pie
- No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake
- Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake
- Lemon Cheesecake
Have you tried using this for a pumpkin pie? I understand I wouldn’t precook it but am not sure if it will still burn
It should work if you use a pastry shield or cover the edges with foil 🙂 I use crumb crusts for my pumpkin pies all the time, it’s such a good combo.
I like this recipe and want to use it for a key lime pie. I do not have a food processor. May I use your hand method for making the gingersnap crust? Next, would the crust be greatly lacking if I omitted the walnuts?
Go ahead and make it by hand, no problem, and yes, you can leave out the nuts. If you have a larger pie plate, just add more crumbs.
Hi. I am using a 27cm pie dish which is 4cm larger than the 9 inch pie dish. By how much should I increase the ingredients? Would increasing them by half be enough? Thanks.
I think increasing by half would work Sarah, but I’m not sure about the exact math on this one, sorry!
I had a hard time spreading out crumbs evenly and up the side. However it I
I had a hard time breading the crumbs evenly in the pie pan. Do you have any suggestions? I certainly want to make this recipe again it was delicious.
Are you using a pie plate that’s larger than 9 inches Willa? If so you may need to increase the recipe a bit.
Sue, is the brown sugar lightly measured or is it packed down in each tablespoon measured? Maybe you would have said packed, if that was to be done?
Going to use this crust with your No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake. YUM!
I would very lightly pack it to measure a tablespoon, but not much. Sounds like a wonderful idea!
Thanks for your reply, Sue. We were going to get our strawberries today until it started raining. Tomorrow after church, we’ll go get the strawberries and make ourselves this delicious crust for your No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake. Makes me hungry just thinking about it!
Sue? It says best for no bake fillings, so not to be baked twice!? Do you think I could not bake crust , then add my cheese pumpkin filling & bake all at once?
Alot of questions but I making for our Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend! Your reply is requested.
LeeR
The issue here is that the gingersnaps tend to get too browned. I would not pre-bake in that case. And Happy Thanksgiving!