Getty ImagesMy grandmother and mother both had deft touches with pie dough. They combined ingredients without measuring, blending them lightly and quickly, always producing a lovely flakey crust. I stood and watched them, taking notes. They stood and watched me, as I followed their instructions. And every time: cardboard.

As a result I have resorted to the cookie-crumb crust, though I try to make it seem cool by baking it in a springform pan so that I end up with a tart instead of a garden variety pie.

The best cookies to use are the plainest (such a graham crackers or vanilla wafers) because they are relatively low in sugar and fat, which lets you control the type of fat and the amount of sugar in the crust. For example, you can use a little bit of unsaturated olive oil to replace some of the saturated fats in the melted butter used in the crust. And you can add other healthful ingredients such as ground nuts, wheat germ, and ground flaxseeds to make a cookie crumb crust that you would not be able to find premade in the supermarket.

Here are 5 tarts with 5 different cookie-crumb crusts. Of course you could mix and match the fillings and crusts if you feel like, because the crusts will all hold about the same amount of filling.

• Tangerine Creamsicle Tart recipe (graham cracker crust)
This crust would be fine with any of the other fillings.
• Marble Cheesecake Tart recipe (chocolate wafer crust)
This crust would be good with the Banoffee, pumpkin mousse, or pear & almond custard fillings.
• Banoffee Tart recipe (pecan-vanilla wafer crust)
This crust would be good with the cheesecake or pumpkin mousse fillings.
• Pear & Almond Custard Tart recipe (almond biscotti crust)
This crust would be good with the tangerine creamsicle, cheesecake, or pumpkin mousse fillings.
• Pumpkin Mousse Tart recipe (gingersnap crust)
This crust would be good with the cheesecake or pear & almond custard fillings.