Crafty Cookery

I’ve been testing gluten free pie crusts and think I finally found one that is fairly easy and tastes good. I don’t mind my almond meal, rice flour and margarine crusts but, for me, the joy in pie is the crust. I’m planning to make apple pie (my mom’s favorite) for Christmas so I tested the crust today on my housemates with a blackberry pie. The blackberries came from my parents’ property (of course) and were in my freezer.

I adapted the gluten free pie crust recipe found here to work with my sensitivities.

Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Sugar Free Pie Crust

1 cup white rice flour
3/4 cup corn starch
3/4 cup tapioca flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp stevia
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup vegan margarine, at room temp.
1 egg
1 Tbs white vinegar
2 Tbs ice cold water

Combine dry ingredients and whisk together. Add shortening and margarine and mix with a pastry blender until dry ingredients are incorporated and dough resembles small pebbles. Mix together egg, vinegar and water in a larger bowl. Slowly combine dry ingredients into the liquid ingredients. Knead until it forms a consistent dough. Form dough into two balls. Cover in plastic wrap and chill for at least a half hour (can be chilled for several hours). Roll balls out between lightly rice floured sheets of waxed paper until about an 1/8 of an inch thick.

Gluten Free & Sugar Free Blackberry Pie Filling

5 cups frozen blackberries, slightly thawed
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 cup stevia
1 tsp ground cinnamon

In large bowl, combine ingredients until berries are coated with the dry ingredients. Pour into a prepared pie pan and cover with top crust. Crimp edges with either your fingers or a fork and slice vent holes in the crust. In a pre-heated 425* degree oven, cook pie for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375* and cook for another 25-35 minutes until crust is golden and filling is bubbling.

I have numerous quarts of frozen berries in my freezer from my parents. Last night I ate a bowl of partially frozen blackberries with a drizzle of almond milk over the top of them. The almond milk added a nice balance to the berries. Tonight as I was looking for something for dinner, I saw the bag of defrosted berries sitting on the shelf. While my rice cooked, I dumped the berries in a pot with some almond milk and a corn starch slurry. Here’s the recipe:

2 cups blackberries (if they were frozen, thaw before using)
2 cups almond milk, divided
3 Tbs corn starch
2 tsp stevia

Add blackberries and one cup almond milk to medium saucepot. Turn on medium low heat until it starts to simmer. Mix corn starch with other cup of almond milk to form a slurry. Once blackberry mixture is simmering, slowly stir in the corn starch slurry. Let pudding simmer, stirring often, until it thickens. Remove from heat and stir in the stevia. Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap (laying it directly on the pudding so a skin won’t form over the top). Let cool on the counter for at least a half hour before refrigerating. Refrigerate at least an hour before serving.

Filling:

2 apples, peeled, cored, sliced thin
1 medium zucchini, sliced thin & halved
1 Tbs lemon juice
3 Tbs brown rice flour
2 Tbs stevia
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cardamom

Topping:

1 cup gluten-free oatmeal
1/2 cup walnuts
3 Tbs vegan margarine
3 Tbs stevia

In a large bowl, mix filling ingredients together. Butter an oven proof dish (I use a 6 cup glass casserole dish), pour filling into the dish. Preheat oven to 350* while mixing the topping. Put topping ingredients in food processor and pulse until combined. Pour over the top of the filling and press down lightly. Cook for one hour or until apples are cooked through.