Ginger Crumb Crust

1 1/4 cups gingersnap crumbs

3 ounces crystallized ginger -- sliced

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

2 tablespoons unsalted butter -- melted

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, with a rack in the middle.

2) In a food processor, process the crumbs, crystallized ginger, sugar and ground ginger until they're as fine as possible. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the melted butter. Set aside 1/4 cup of the crumb mixture for decorating the top of the pie.

3) Press the rest of the crumb mixture over the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9-inch deep pie pan. (A greased 8-inch springform pan gives a nicer- looking result for Frozen Lemon Pie.) Bake the crust for 10 minutes. On a separate pan or sheet of foil, at the same time, bake the 1/4 cup of crumbs.

4) Cool the pie shell completely before putting a cold filling. If the extra crumbs need to be crumbled, crumble them.

Makes one deep 9-inch pie shell or 8-inch springform crust.

Notes: From Ann Hodgman's BEAT THAT! COOKBOOK, 1995, Chapters Publishing Ltd., ISBN 1-881527-92-1, pages 173-174.

Typos by K. Hudson Lipin, 09/04/98