Posted by Julie on Nov 15th 2018
Buttery, flaky pie crust is a classic all year long. It goes well with a variety of fillings, and it's fun to get creative with top crust designs, imprints, and washes. But we have to admit that we occasionally long to substitute more exciting and flavorful ingredients in our pie crust.
We found some delicious ideas to share that we can't wait to try in our own kitchen. Whether you're craving sweet, salty, or even a bit spicy, one of these unique pie crust recipes is bound to appeal to you too. Make a splash at your next family holiday dinner with a pie crust no one's ever tried before. Just be prepared to make pie for every future occasion too.
Gingersnap Pie Crust
Of course cookies are great for making pie crust, and lots of varieties have been in heavy rotation for years. However, we’re excited to try using gingersnaps next. These crunchy, sweet and spicy cookies blend well with the flavors of the holiday season.
This recipe from Duff Goldman on Food Network uses a gingersnap crust for a pumpkin cream pie. Combine crushed gingersnaps with melted butter, press into a pie plate, and bake. Even if you’re already committed to a good old fashioned pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, you might try pouring your pumpkin pie filling into a gingersnap crust. We bet pecan pie filling would also go nicely with this crust.
Pecan Pie Crust
Speaking of pecans, they’re not just for pie filling; you can use them for the crust too. They add flavor and texture, and they’re naturally gluten-free. If you’ve got someone to bake for who can’t have gluten, you’ll want to bookmarkthis recipe from Saveur.
Use a food processor to pulse the pecans, along with brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Then add cubed butter and pulse some more. Once again, press the mixture into a pie plate and bake. Whether you fill this crust with the pumpkin filling in the Saveur recipe or use your own, it will be a thoughtful addition to your family holidays.
Pretzel Pie Crust
If you’re accustomed to making fruit pies, you may wonder why anyone would make pie crust out of pretzels. Apart from the delicious sweet and salty flavor itself, the crunch of this crust complements all sorts of fillings.
We chose this recipe from Stef at Cupcake Project for a few key reasons. First, she includes links to multiple pie recipes where a pretzel crust goes well. We’re confident at least one of her ideas will tempt you. Also, she shares helpful tips like what sort of pretzels work best, and why you should bake your pretzel crust, even if your filling will be cold.
Sugar Cone Pie Crust
Instead of being disappointed when you unbox sugar cones to find them crumbled, these recipes might have you crushing cones on purpose. We’d never thought to make pie crust out of sugar cones, but it makes perfect sense.
We want to highlight two recipes because of their slight differences.The first one is from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe, and it’s destined for an ice cream pie. Mel combines crushed sugar cones, butter, and a tablespoon of sugar. Press this mixture into a springform pan and freeze for 20 minutes. There’s no baking involved.
The second recipe is from Dizzy Busy and Hungry, and it includes sugar cones and butter only — no additional sugar. The pie recipe itself is for a no-bake chilled lemonade pie. The crust isn’t baked either, but instead of freezing it, you will press it into a pie plate and refrigerate for three hours.
Saltine Cracker Pie Crust
Saltines aren’t just for nibbling when you’re sick. The light texture and inherent saltiness of these crackers make them ideal for pie crust. You could even substitute salted matzo.
Once again, we can’t settle on a single recipe to recommend because each of these recipes has its place. Inthis one from NYT Cooking, a saltine crust is the foundation of Atlantic Beach Pie, a North Carolina creation and tradition. Its only ingredients are saltines, butter, and a few tablespoons of sugar. Because the butter isn’t melted (just room temperature) and the crust is frozen for 15 minutes before baking, the bits of butter create flaky air pockets like in a traditional crust.
The second recipe using saltines also includes butter and sugar, but with a twist.This recipe from Genius Kitchen uses brown sugar, melted butter, and vanilla extract to form a crust with a toffee-like taste and texture. It doesn’t bake long, and once it is cooled you can top it with all sorts of different fillings.
