The Joys of Jell-O Recipe #73: Crumb Crust

Howdy, Jigglers! For the first time ever, I think, I am presenting to you a JOJ recipe that includes no gelatin whatsoever.

The other week I got a powerful hankering for my grandmother's lemon icebox pie, but I had a whole box of graham crackers in the cabinet and a whole box of butter in the refrigerator, so I didn't see any point in buying a pre-made crust. Then, all of a sudden, it hit me that JOJ has a crumb crust recipe in it! It was perfect--I could get my sugar fix, my nostalgia, and knock out a Jell-O recipe all in one go!

This recipe is incredibly simple, although when I was making it, the crust seemed to turn out really thin in my 8-inch pie plate, so I added more crumbs and butter until it appeared sturdier. I did opt to bake the crust before letting it cool and adding my lemon icebox filling.

I may have gone just a bit far in adding more crust material, since it ended up really thick, but I'd rather it be too thick than too thin and falling apart. That said, it tasted just fine and served its purpose perfectly.

To make this slightly more gelatin-related, I did an experiment with the lemon icebox pie. My grandmother and my mother make their lemon icebox pies perfectly every time, using only egg yolks to make them set. I have had a couple of occasions where mine don't set up fully, though, but luckily I have a pie-setting superweapon at my disposal: gelatin. So I added a tablespoon of gelatin to the mixture, and it did, in fact, set up great without affecting the taste at all. In the future, I would probably only use two teaspoons of gelatin for a slightly softer pie, but that's up to each person's preference, of course.

The other thing I want to go over in this recipe is all of the variations suggested. Graham crackers are the obvious choice for most pies needing a crumb crust, but I like thinking about the possible uses of the other cookies listed. I didn't even know what zweiback was before writing this post--for those who don't know, it's a sweetened, egg-based, twice-baked toast that sometimes has cinnamon on top. That seems like it would work well with an eggnog pie around the holidays. The chocolate wafers beg for either a chocolate cream pie or a grasshopper pie. I think gingersnaps would make a perfect crust to give flair to a coconut cream pie. Vanilla wafers or shortbread would make a decadent addition to a banana cream pie.

Though this recipe is anything but revolutionary, it is a good trick to have tucked up your sleeve for all sorts of pies--Jell-O-related or not. So thanks, General Foods, for a completely functional recipe with a few fun twists.