For most of us, holidays and special occasions are marked by loved ones, meaningful conversations, and delicious food. Ending your celebratory meal with a sweet treat makes the event extraordinary. Dessert is a must-have for any special day!
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Why Make Your Own Pie Crust?
There are a gazillion pie crust recipes out there, many gluten-free. So, why make this one? Here are a few reasons why we love this recipe.
Cookie Crumb Pie Crust is Easy to Make
Many pie crusts are labor-intensive, requiring a lot of mixing, rolling and stretching. This pie crust is easy-peasy! You do all the work in your food processor, so it’s a one-bowl operation. It’s virtually foolproof!
This is a great recipe to have your older children help with. There’s nothing better than making memories in the kitchen!
Cookie Crumb Pie Crust is Easily Customizable
While we share our favorite cookies in this recipe, you can use any gluten-free crunchy cookie you want. Pumpkin pie tastes impressive with a gluten-free gingersnap-based crust, while nut butter or chocolate filling pairs nicely with chocolate cookies.
You should note that soft cookies won’t give you the desired result. You need nice, crunchy cookies to create enough crust.
This crust can be varied for all your favorite seasonal pies. The possibilities are endless! Let us know what combinations you come up with. We’re always looking for new healthy recipes!
Cookie Crumb Pie Crust Fits Your Healthy Goals
Most pie crust recipes (even crumb pie crusts!) are made with processed white flour and sugar, making them full of gluten. These ingredients raise your blood sugar and cause your waistline to expand. Even if you have no gluten issues, you won’t feel your best after eating it.
Gluten-free cookies are usually made with nut flours and coconut sugar, delicious options that will leave you feeling your best!
Healthy Dessert Ingredients 101
To make this recipe, you need just 4 simple ingredients. You may already have some of them in your pantry!
Cooking Spray: Cooking spray can get a bad reputation, but it’s a handy tool! We recommendavoidingm canola or vegetable oil and sticking with coconut or olive oil-based sprays.
Cookie Crumbs: Our favorite cookies to use in this recipe are crunchy gluten-free cookies.
Our tried and true favorites for this crust are Simple Mills Crunchy Cinnamon or Crunchy Toasted Pecan Cookies. You can also use Hu or Siete cookies.
Butter or Raw Coconut Oil: Butter helps the cookie crumbs crisp up and is good for your body in moderation. In the past (during the margarine era), butter was thought to increase your risk for cardiovascular disease. Studies proved that assumption wrong and presented the world with a new lens: butter can lower your risk for Type 2 diabetes. (1)
If you aren’t interested in using butter, you can use raw coconut oil. Coconut oil is full of healthy medium-chain triglycerides that bypass a few steps and go straight to your liver. (2) Your body processes these triglycerides into energy.
Sea Salt: Did you know that a low-sodium diet is actually harmful to your body? It’s true! Your body needs a certain level of sodium to thrive. Table salt is stripped of all beneficial nutrients, so we prefer using Colima sea salt. It’s hand-harvested and has all the good stuff intact. It tastes incredible, as well!
My Cookie Crumb Pie Crust Recipe
This recipe takes just 10 minutes to make! It makes one 9-inch pie crust. Here’s how to make it.
- Coconut-oil or olive-oil cooking spray
- 1 ½ cups crumbs from gluten-free coconut sugar cookies, such as Simple Mills Crunchy Cinnamon or Crunchy Toasted Pecan Cookies
- ¼ cup (½ stick) grass-fed butter or raw organic coconut oil, melted
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pink Himalayan salt or sea salt
- Supplies:
- 9-inch pie pan
- Food processor
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mist a 9-inch glass pie pan with cooking spray.
- In a food processor, combine the cookie crumbs, butter, and salt and process until evenly mixed. Put aside 2 to 3 tablespoons of the crumb mixture for the topping.
- Press the remaining mixture firmly and evenly against the bottom and sides of the pie pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Allow to cool on a wire rack for about 20 minutes before adding the pie filling.
Step One: Prep Your Pie Pan
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mist a 9-inch glass pie pan with cooking spray. We recommend using olive oil or coconut oil-based spray. Since this crust involves melted butter, lightly mist the pan.
Step Two: Combine Ingredients
In a food processor, combine the cookie crumbs, butter, and salt and process until evenly mixed. Put aside 2 to 3 tablespoons of the crumb mixture for the topping. Press the remaining mixture firmly and evenly against the bottom and sides of the pie pan.
Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes before adding pie filling.
Delicious Ways to Use Cookie Crumb Pie Crust
You have a unique, healthy pie crust. Now you need some ways to use it! Here are a few of our top suggestions.
- Use it as a topping for our Essentially Delicious Yogurt!
- Create a decadent, allergy-friendly cheesecake. (One of Dr. Z’s all-time favorites!)
- Think Spring with a delicious lemon pie!
- Make ice cream sundaes with ALL the fixings. My coconut milk vanilla ice cream is a great place to start!
- Need a healthy Thanksgiving dessert? What’s better than pumpkin pie?
- Make individual pie crusts by using ramekins.
Like swapping your pie crust recipe, small changes are how we began to move to a healthier, toxin-free lifestyle. We’ve never looked back! Simple swapping out an ingredient here or there may not seem like a lot, but it adds up, and before you know it, you’ve completely revamped your eating habits.
You won’t believe how much better your body feels when you choose to avoid chemical-laden foods and fuel yourself with the natural gifts God gave us.
