Sloppy Is As Sloppy Does

 So how hard can it be to make a graham cracker crust?  I mean, it's the "easy one"...right?

Wrong.

As you can see from the picture, I figured I'd save a few steps by measuring my cookie crumbs in the same container I'd use for mixing.  (Mistake #1)

Then I dumped entire contents into a pie dish (Mistake #2) and tried to form it.

And this is what I ended up with.  The mixture was dry and wouldn't hold it's form.  Plus I had a crust that was about a centimeter thick.

I was planning on making a pie that day but this ''crust'' was absolutely sole crushing.  If I continued forward, I knew it would just get worse -- I mean, there was barely room for filling.  I could see this bubbling over into my oven and, if it made it past that, it would break up at the time of service.

To paraphrase ''Forrest Gump'', Sloppy Is As Sloppy Does.



So I decided to redo the crust, taking advantage of the fact that I can re-purpose the old crust.

When I originally created the crust I used two packages of graham crackers, which left on unused package in the box.  So I decided to grind up the remaining package in the food processor then add the recycled crust on top of that.  Since two packages appeared to be very generous for a single crust I figured by grinding up all three I should have enough for two crusts.

Once ground, I scooped the crumbs into a measuring cup and scrapped the excess from the top.

Then I followed the rest of the recipe but used my pastry knife to combine the ingredients, which was a lot easier than using a fork.

One noticeable thing this time around, the consistency was much better, less crumbly.  This made me feel better.  So much so that I accepted ''help'' from an eager assistant, who I let butter the pie dish and even form the crust.

Once the dish was buttered, I then added only half the crumb mixture to the pan and focused on forming the bottom.  When that came together, I then spooned in the remaining mixture, little-by-little, and formed the side walls.

To finish the crust, I took my measuring cup and used it to flatten all surfaces.

The end result -- perfection.