I get a newsletter from a site called Food 52, and every once in awhile they have information that I am SO glad to receive. (We hope you always feel that way about your Cook’n Newsletter!) And what I’m sharing now is from one of those very newsletters. Food 52 offered ideas on how to add some pizzazz to a pie crust. Here’s the scoop:

“A lackluster crust can spoil even the most flavorful filling. Crusts are a difficult part of the pie: Delicate butter ratios and worries of overworking the dough plague even the experienced baker. The finest chocolate mousse, airy and wonderful as a daydream, becomes a sad afterthought when paired with a tasteless base.

“Our tip to avoiding the stress? Try a nut crust as the base of your next would-be baking project. By simply blending chopped nuts (like pecans or walnuts) with some honey and butter, then pressing the mixture into a tart tin or pie shell, you've got an easy, flavorful alternative to dough.”

This said, Food 52 partnered with the Diamond Nuts company to come up with an awesome crust recipe that is built on a nut-base.

Their nut-based pie crust recipe uses pecans. Take a look:

PECAN TART NUT CRUST

1 1/2 cups raw pecans

1 1/2 tablespoons raw honey

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into small chunks

1. Heat your oven to 400° F. Put the pecans in a food processor and pulse until you have a coarse, crumbly meal.

2. Grease a nine-inch tart pan with butter or line the bottom with parchment paper. Transfer the pecans to a bowl and blend in the honey (I use my fingers), then work in the chunks of butter with your hands. Press the mixture into a 9-inch round tart pan (it should fill the bottom and come just a little way up the sides) and put the pan on top of a rimmed baking sheet to catch any oil that may leak out as it bakes.

3. Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes, until browned and toasty. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

This crust works for just about any sort of pie, and is the foundation for all sorts of ganache-type and cream-cheese pies.

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Everything I’ve done with this crust recipe has been terrific. For instance, my first experiment was loading the crust with a filling made of vanilla, honey-sweetened Greek yogurt that had sliced bananas folded into it. I should have made two of these because everyone wanted seconds.

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The next filling I used was softened cream cheese blended into lemon pudding (with lemon zest added for extra zing). I spread that over this yummy nut crust and then topped it all with sweetened whipped cream. It was so easy and so good.

My latest experiment involved well-drained pineapple tidbits folded into homemade vanilla pudding. After spreading this lovely flavor combination into my nut crust, I topped it off with a thick layer of softened cream cheese folded into sweetened whipped cream. This was divine.

I plan to use this crust for the pumpkin pies I’ll make for this year’s Thanksgiving dinner, also. And I think I’ll also use it to fill the bottoms of my muffin tin and try making individual pie-lets. I’ll let you know how it goes. Meanwhile, I hope you’ll give this recipe a try. Even if you have a dough-type pie crust recipe you and everyone else just LOVE, it can’t hurt to add a little pizzazz to your pie-making repertoire now and then!