Graham cracker pie crust. What happened?

[moroccangirl]

I made a peanut butter fluff pie thing today. I had to make a graham cracker crust because they don't have the premade ones. And I spent $$ on graham crackers. I made the crust and baked it for like 5-7 minutes. I put the pie fling in the crust when it cooked then put it in the freezer. When we went to eat it the pie crust was stuck to the pan. Wouldn't come off. I'm going to have to soak it off. I used a glass pie dish. What in the world happened?

[merigayle]

Graham cracker crumbs and lots of butter?

[nadra24]

Not enough butter and too much sugar, maybe?  I don't know, I don't usually bake mine.

[merigayle]

I just use graham cracker crumbs and butter, no sugar, no baking prior.

[Magic Microbe]

What they said...no baking.


And grease the heck out of the pan.

[witchypoo]

I prebake graham cracker crusts with no problem.. I am assuming your ratio of fat to sugar must have been off.

[moroccangirl]

I used this recipe
Ingredients


1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
 
1/3 cup white sugar
 
6 tablespoons butter, melted
 
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)


Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter or margarine, and cinnamon until well blended . Press mixture into an 8 or 9 inch pie plate.
Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 7 minutes. Cool. If recipe calls for unbaked pie shell, just chill for about 1 hour.

Things I possibly did to mess it up:
1. Didn't grease the pie plate. I actually mixed the ingredients IN the pie pan and then pressed down
2. After I baked it, I let it cool, but when I was ready to put the pie filling in it still was t cool enough so I put it in the freezer for a out 20 minutes
3. Could the layer have been to thin? I pressed down in the middle and up on the sides of the pan.

I need to get this right because I haven't found the premade ones, and even if I do, they're probably 15 dollars!! The box of graham crackers was almost ten bucks!!

[merigayle]

i use soft butter, not melted, and just the crumbs and never had a problem. Maybe more butter? LOL

[moroccangirl]

I guess I'll have to play around with it.

[witchypoo]

grease the pie plate.
reduce the added sugar by 1 tablespoon.

[moroccangirl]

Thanks!!

[moroccangirl]

When do you decide to bake or not bake a crust? If I don't bake the crust, should I still grease the pan?

[merigayle]

always grease the pan i never bake a graham cracker crust prior to popping the pie in the oven.

[caribougrrl]

you can always start making graham crackers... graham flour might be difficult to buy, but you can make it by mixing together 2 c. white flour, 1 c. wheat bran, and 5 tsp wheat germ.

then find a graham cracker recipe: Brown-eyed Baker's recipe, Smitten Kitchen's recipe, Alton Brown's recipe

[moroccangirl]

Cgrrl, you just took it to a whole 'nother level!!! I'm going to check those out as soon as this girl falls asleep.

[caribougrrl]

Cgrrl, you just took it to a whole 'nother level!!! I'm going to check those out as soon as this girl falls asleep.

the good news too is that if the point is to make crumbs, you don't have to worry about how pretty they are.

I have no idea if it would be cheaper for you to make vs. buy, but I figure the sense of accomplishment might be worth it. 

[moroccangirl]

I probably am quitting the graham cracker crust attempts. I made another one tonite and it stuck again!!
I decreased the sugar like witchy suggested. I greased the pan (it's a glass pie plate). I didn't bake this time. I put it in the fridge after I pressed it into the pan, put the filling in, then put in the freezer.