Thanks to all who responded regarding my pastry pie crust. I haven't
made another one yet but I've filed it all away and hope that it will
help me the next time.

Now, i've made a few graham cracker or oreo type crusts before and
they've generally turned out fine.

I just recently made the BANANA-CARAMEL COCONUT CREAM PIE WITH DARK
RUM recipe from Cooks Illustrated and the crust turned out too
crumbly, not holding together at all. When i baked it and it came out
of the oven, it SEEMED like it was solid, but when i put thefillings
in and chilled and then went to cut, the bottom crust turned to dust.
Well, not all of it, but it broke, crumbled and had quite a bit of
dust. I presume this is because i didn't use quite enough butter to
bind it together? Does that sound right?

Here's the recipe for the crust i used:

INGREDIENTS
6 ounces animal crackers
2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled

INSTRUCTIONS
1. For the crust: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat
oven to 325 degrees. In food processor, pulse animal crackers,
coconut, and sugar to fine crumbs, eighteen to twenty 1-second pulses;
then process until powdery, about 5 seconds. Transfer crumbs to medium
bowl and add butter; stir to combine until crumbs are evenly
moistened. Empty crumbs into 9-inch glass pie plate; using bottom of
ramekin or 1/2 cup dry measuring cup, press crumbs evenly into bottom
and up sides of pie plate. Bake until fragrant and medium brown, about
15 minutes, rotating pie shell halfway through baking time. Set on
wire rack and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

btw, the pie itself turned out really nice, but would have been great
if i could have made the crust hold together. No complaints from the
tasters, though!

Here's the link to the recipe for those with Cooks Illustrated access:
http://cooksillustrated.com/recipes/...asp?docid=6071

-goro-