Oatmeal Cookie Crust

I knew I wanted to make a vegan French silk pie this holiday season (originally, I'd intended to make it for Thanksgiving), but for various reasons, it kept not happening. I even had a pretty tasty gluten-free crust, from the freezer section, on hand for a bit (and that got used for other things too). Alas, when I finally did find the time/energy/resources to make it, I didn't want to replicate a buttery, flakey crust. That 1) didn't seem fun because 2) it's a lot of work when it's also gluten-free.

I looked online for recipes for cookie-based crusts for similar pies and saw a lot for Oreo crusts (because Oreos are chemically vegan), but that doesn't work for a gluten-free diet (not even if you get the wheat-free Newman's, if you're new to gf baking). Then, I started looking for oatmeal cookie crusts (I love oatmeal cookies). Since this was going to be a very sweet pie, I didn't want any of the super-sweet crusts I was seeing and decided to make my own, less sweet, veganized crust.

This is what I came up with instead, loosely based on a straight-up oatmeal cookie recipe. It's lightly salty and holds together pretty well.

Oatmeal Cookie Crust
1/3 cup non-dairy butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp ground flax mixed with 5 tablespoons warm water*
1/4 cup applesauce
2/3 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 tsp. fine sea salt, scant
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground Ceylon cinnamon
1 cup rolled oats

In a saucepan, combine the butter and sugars, and stir until just melted and combined. Remove from heat, and add in remaining ingredients (I used a large enough saucepan, you may need to transfer these to a separate bowl), and mix thoroughly. Grease your hands or the back of a silicone spatula and press into a greased 9" x 11" baking dish, including up the sides. Bake at 350 degrees for about 9-11 minutes, or until edges just begin to brown. Remove from oven and cool completely before adding any fillings.

*This is more than you'd normally use for a flaxseed egg, but you want this dough pliable enough that you can push it throughout the pan