Chocolate Cookie Crumb Crust Recipe

By
Lauren Weisenthal
Lauren Weisenthal is a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Lauren Weisenthal was the author of the Pie of the Week and Sweet Technique columns for Serious Eats. From 2017–2021, she ran a restaurant called The Nightingale in Vinalhaven, Maine.
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Updated August 30, 2018
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Photograph: Lauren Weisenthal

This homemade version of a chocolate cookie crumb crust blows the kind made with packaged cookies away! It's a perfect crust for cheesecakes, crumb crust pies, and tarts. It's a little extra work, but I promise, the pure chocolaty flavor and sweet/salty balance is worth it!

Use this crust for the Ice Cream Sundae Pie.

Recipe Details

Chocolate Cookie Crumb Crust Recipe

Active 20 mins
Total 60 mins
Serves 8 to 10 servings
Makes 1 pie crust
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • 7 tablespoons butter, softened

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted

  • 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted

  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar for 4 to 5 minutes on medium to high speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

  2. Turn off the mixer and add flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Turn the mixer on low and mix until homogeneous, taking care to scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixer. The mixture will feel very dry and crumbly.

  3. Pour the mixture onto the prepared pan and spread it out so it's approximately 1/2 inch thick. Bake for 10 minutes, rotating halfway. Remove the pan from the oven and stir the crumble around, moving the outer edges into the center to prevent burning. Bake for an additional 10 minutes. Cool completely in the pan.

  4. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse to pulverize the cookie chunks until they are a small uniform crumbs, about 20 seconds. Transfer the crumbs to a bowl and stir in the melted butter. The crumbs will feel slightly wet. Using your fingers, press the crumbs into the bottom and sides of the pie plate, forming a uniform crust. Refrigerate for 20 minutes before filling.

Special Equipment

Parchment paper

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
222Calories
12gFat
27gCarbs
2gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8 to 10
Amount per serving
Calories222
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 12g15%
Saturated Fat 7g37%
Cholesterol 31mg10%
Sodium 155mg7%
Total Carbohydrate 27g10%
Dietary Fiber 1g4%
Total Sugars 15g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 0mg0%
Calcium 5mg0%
Iron 2mg11%
Potassium 17mg0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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