Over New Years Eve I realized that our family actually has some pretty odd traditions. First of all, we always have a movie marathon of some kind. Although this year was the first year that all of the kids stayed up until midnight together (scratch that...4 year old hit the hay at 11 p.m.) we usually watch a series of movies until midnight to pass the time. We've done Star Wars and Harry Potter and Ice Age and this year we did Spongebob Squarepants. It has to be something we own already and something everybody likes. Let me say that Spongebob gets funnier and funnier the later we stay up. Besides that, we always drink Key Lime Sodas in bottles and eat cheesecake. I'm not sure where this started but it's what we do. I usually make a regular cheesecake in a store bought crust for everyone else and just leave a little filling in a tupperware for me to eat by itself, but this year I went all out and tried a graham-cracker tasting crust that we all could eat.
First, I added 20 of these ginger snaps from Trader Joe's that my friend Aimee gave me to my blender. I know there's not a Trader Joe's everywhere (ahem, in my own state, nonetheless), but you could probably use the Mi-Del gluten free gingersnaps, as they are available all over. They have a little bit stronger ginger flavor than the Trader Joe ones, so you might want to use fewer cookies and more almonds, you'll just have to play with it and see what you like. Then I added 1/2 cup slivered almonds and I chopped them up until they were fine crumbs. I added 1/4 cup of melted butter and mixed it all together, then pressed it into my pie plate. I added my no-bake cheesecake filling over the top and refrigerated it for about 4 hours before we sliced it. 
Check out my party plate! The good thing about this in contrast to some of the other crusts I've made before is that this needs no baking, no extra sugar or flavoring, and it takes about 5 minutes to put together. This delicious, easy crust will double for any graham cracker crust you might be hankering for. It has a slightly tangy, nutty flavor that complements the sweetness of a cheesecake, but I bet it would be good for one of those Jell-O pies or something. Hope you like it as much as I did!Happy eating!
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What a great recipe for graham cracker crust! I've just made them with gluten free graham crackers in the past. Oh, and congrats on your newspaper debut!
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