I like making cheesecakes, but my crusts suck. They are much
harder than what I want. I am using ratios of 1 cup crushed
graham crackers, 3 TB sugar, and 3 TB butter. Maybe a little
heavier on the butter and lighter on the sugar, but that's close.
I mold the crust up the sides, so I usually triple or quadruple
that amount to get about a 1/4 inch crust. I have tried molding
gently rather than pressing hard. That helped some but not
enough.

I quit pre-baking the crust at all in order to reduce its hardness,
but that hasn't fixed it. The recipe I use is pretty close to the
New York Cheesecake that's inside the Philadephia Cream
Cheese boxes. I underbake by about 15 minutes. Recipe
calls for 65 minutes and I go for 50. Works for me.

How do I make my crusts soft? Do you have a simple
alternative crust I could try?

Thank you, Michael