Animal Crackers Are The Whimsical Crust Your Tart Desserts Need

Whether you're whipping up a lemon tart recipe, a homemade mini fruit tart, or any one of a billion other tart recipes available on the internet, one thing remains constant –- the need for a crust. Some of us simply prefer to go the convenient route with store-bought phyllo or pie crust, while others like to get a little creative with different kinds of homemade dough.

A lot of us first think of graham cracker crumbs for tart crusts, but there are so many other options: cereal, pretzels, cookies, just about anything you can think of. For the perfect '90s nostalgia moment, we'd personally have to recommend animal crackers for the crust on your next tart.

What makes animal crackers so great for tarts in particular is their particular spice combo. Most animal crackers have nutmeg and mace in them, and as such, they pair well with fruity desserts. But let's get into how to use animal crackers as a crust, shall we?

As we've already established, most animal crackers have a mild spice to them. Even better, the spices commonly used in animal crackers, nutmeg and mace, are said to bring out fruity flavors and scents, so of course we want to use them for desserts like a lemon tart.

According to the Kitchn, the first step in using animal crackers for a dessert crust is measuring out about 170 grams of crackers, which will amount to approximately 1.5 cups of crumbs once the crackers have been crushed. After you've got your crumbs measured and mashed, you can mix them with some butter and any other spices you might want. Last but not least, pack your crumb-crust into whichever cookware you're using to bake your tart and pop it in the oven. Bam. Perfect pie crust.

For a slightly different flavor profile –- but a '90s nostalgia moment nonetheless -– you might also consider using a making a Nilla Wafers pie crust. These cookies work especially well with banana cream pie, but feel free to use any fruit you'd like.