Maria's Cookies Pie Crust

I've mentioned this recipe many times here on La Cocina de Leslie, but always as part of another recipe.  I think it's high time it received a post of it's very own.

Galletas Maria's are just as popular in Mexico as graham crackers are in the U.S.  Maybe more so.  It's often the first cookie babies in Mexico eat.

Galletas Maria's are a thin, round cookie with a light vanilla taste that are delicious by themselves with a cold glass of milk.  But I love to use Maria's cookies as a base for my cookie crumb pie crust.  This is a delicious crust with just the Maria's cookies and the melted butter, but to really kick it up a notch, you could add a little ground cinnamon, nutmeg and/or ginger, depending on your pie filling.

Some of my favorite pies to bake in a Galletas Maria's Pie Crust include Key Lime Pie and Creamy Mango Pie.



Galletas Maria's Pie Crust

Ingredients:
  • 1 package Maria's Cookies
  • 1/3 cup melted butter or margarine
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)

Directions:
In a food processor, grind the Maria's Cookies until very fine.  If you're like me and don't have a fancy food processor, place the cookies in a large ziploc baggie and flatten with a rolling pin until very fine. 



Pour the cookie crumbs into a medium mixing bowl.  Season with spices, if desired.



Stir in the melted butter and mix until well comined.



Pour the crumb mixture into a pie plate.  Press mixture firmly onto bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Refrigerate until ready to use.



Photobucket

6 comments

  1. Hi Leslie, this is going to sound like a dumb question but here goes anyway.
    I really dislike the taste of margarine; but butter is pretty costly for baking.  I noticed the brand you had in the photo and am wondering if this brand tastes better than most of them.  I guess if you eat margarine normally you are probably used to the taste so you might not notice it.  Roy eats margarine all the time; but when I eat it that is all I can taste in the recipe, sandwich, whatever.  
    So basically I am always hunting for one that will taste better in baking/cooking.  Got any ideas???

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  2. Love this recipe, these cookies make a nice crust :) Thanks for sharing :)

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  3. Mmmm...tasty crust option, I'll try this next time!

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  4. Not a dumb question at all, Brenda!  There are some brands of margarine that I don't use because they have too strong artificial taste.  The brand I used in this recipe is "La Villita".  It's flavor is not as strong as other margarines.  As for butter, I use either "Lala" brand sticks, which costs the same as margarine.  I also use the 1 kilo bars of "Eugenia" brand butter available at most cremerias, which is what I prefer to use because of the flavor and it isn't very expensive. 

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  5. Thanks Leslie, I will look for La Villita and see if they have it here.
    Roy likes eating soft margarine, yuck !! I have always eaten butter and much prefer the flavour of it, if I have to put margarine on something I will go without it.
    Not sure how prices where you are compare to here; but butter is quite a bit more expensive than margarine here, which is why I would like to find a brand of margarine that doesn't ruin the taste of everything. 
     I use either LaLa or Eugenia butter too, usually LaLa as that is what I can get.  The majority of people here use margarine and butter is not found in all the stores, only the big ones like Soriana, Ley and sometimes Santa Fe.  Get this, the Cremeria here, there is only one I know of, does not carry BUTTER only margarine !!!  Go figure !!
    A stick of Lala butter here ( 90 grams + 10 gram bonus) costs 9.35 pesos and a stick of margarine is about 1/2 of that probably, not positive as I haven't bought any for a long time as Roy eats the soft stuff.
    Thanks.

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  6. If I ever have the chance to bake in Mexico, I will definitely try this.  Do you know if graham crackers are easy to find in Mexico?  I have never come across them, but I was never looking for them either. 

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