A crumb crust will taste better with homemade crumbs, but you can make crumbs from just about any type of crisp, un-iced cookies, so long as they are fresh. A graham cracker or vanilla wafer crust is good with cream cheese fillings, a chocolate crumb crust or biscotti crust pairs well with chocolate and vanilla fillings, and a gingersnap crust will perk up just about anything, particularly pumpkin and chiffon fillings. Crumbs can be made most easily by pulverizing the cookies, broken into pieces, in a food processor or, alternately, by placing the coarsely crumbled cookies in a heavy-duty plastic bag and going over them repeatedly with a rolling pin, lifting and turning the bag every few rolls until you have fine, even crumbs. To make the requisite 1½ cups of crumbs, you will need approximately 14 whole graham crackers, 30 gingersnaps, 50 vanilla wafers, 35 chocolate wafers, or 12 biscotti. Briefly baking a crumb crust enhances its flavor and keeps it crisper after filling, and is worth the little time it takes.
Makes one 9-inch crumb crust
1½ cups crumbs (if using chocolate wafer cookies, use 2 cups crumbs)
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Combine the crumbs, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl, and stir and toss with a fork. Add the butter and stir vigorously until blended and all the crumbs are moistened. Alternately, you may combine the ingredients in a food processor and whirl until blended.
With your fingers, press and pat the mixture over the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan, building the crumbs up just slightly above the rim of the pan and being careful not to make the sides too thick. Smooth any uneven spots with the back of a spoon.
Before filling the crust, bake it in a preheated 325°F oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool completely before filling.