Cheesecake crusts differ from standard pie crusts. A regular pie crust forms a bowl with bottom and sides that contains a pie filling. A cheesecake crust instead is more of a flat "plate"; the puffy cheesecake sits on top of this plate with no crusty sides.

A standard cheesecake crust is made of crushed cookies (vanila wafers, vanilla or chocolate sandwich creams, graham crakers, etc) mixed with butter or margarine. Flavoring like instant coffee, crushed mint chips, or crushed nuts are often added.

A standard crust recipe might contain: 1 dozen chocolate sandwich cream cookies, 3 tablespoons butter. Crush cookies and mix with butter till well combined. Press cookie mixture into the bottom of a greased 9-inch springform pan.

If you're planning on making cheesecakes, you must have a springform pan! A springform pan consists of two parts: a circular flat bottom, and a side formed in a circle. The circular side is not continuous; it's split in two at one location. A spring-like clasp locks or unlocks the side. The bottom fits into the side, the side is then locked, and the pan has a top and bottom. When unlocked, the side opens and the bottom (and the pie) can be removed.