Salted Graham Cracker Crust

Place a rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 350°. Crumble 9 graham cracker sheets (140 g) into food processor; add 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar and 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt and process until crackers are very finely ground. Add 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted, slightly cooled, and 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract and pulse until the texture of wet sand.

Remove lid and blade from processor and mix crumbs with your hand or a rubber spatula to ensure there are no unevenly mixed crumbs.

Transfer crumb mixture to a standard 9"-diameter metal or glass pie dish and press firmly and evenly up sides and across bottom with a flat-bottomed measuring cup (building the sides first, then smoothing the bottom will make for a more even crust). Chill crust in the refrigerator 20 minutes (or, if you are short on time, in the freezer 10 minutes).

Place pie pan on a rimmed baking sheet if desired; bake crust until a deeper golden brown, 15–18 minutes. Let cool. Do ahead: Crust can be baked 2 days ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.