The Breakfast Staple That Will Elevate Your Pie Crust

There's nothing quite like the perfectly baked pie. A staple of holiday meals, pie is also a delicious treat any time of year. And although 186 million units of pie are sold in grocery stores every year, according to the American Pie Council, three out of four Americans actually prefer homemade pie, reports the Arizona Daily Star.

As anyone who has ever baked a pie knows, the crust is a pretty important part of the pie. One version is the pastry pie crust, consisting basically of flour, salt, sugar, butter, and ice water (via Simply Recipes), though many bakers find that they need a few extra "tricks" or different ingredients to make the perfect pastry pie crust, ranging from adding vinegar, lard, or suet to their pie crusts, to using a blend of different flours. Then there is the crumb pie crust, made from finely ground crumbs of crackers (like graham crackers) or cookies, and butter and sugar. Turns out, there's something else you can use for your crumb pie crusts, and it's something that you probably already have in your pantry as a breakfast staple: cereal.

The beauty of using cereal is that you can use your favorite breakfast cereal, or whatever you have on hand, to make the crumb pie crust, and different cereals will add a different flavor to the pie. Depending on which cereal you use, you can make a great gluten-free pie crust using Cheerios or Chex.

A food processor or blender will be your best option for crushing the cereal, but if you don't have one, you can also use a mortar and pestle, or fill a large resealable bag with the cereal and crush the cereal using a rolling pin, mallet, or another heavy object. Mix the crushed cereal with butter, and depending on how sweet the cereal you're using is, some additional sugar. To set your pie crust, bake it in an oven for 10 minutes at 350F. If you don't plan to bake your crust, be sure to let it chill in the fridge first before adding any fillings, or risk the crust disintegrating, warns Food. Lifehacker also recommends removing any dried fruit in the cereal for any pie crusts that get baked, as they might burn otherwise. Then simply add your favorite filling for a delicious, elevated pie that's perfectly acceptable to enjoy for breakfast.