Gluten Free Moravian Chicken Pie Recipe

(This was a post I found in the archives that I meant to share months ago and it somehow was never published... I think it's perfect for January and for those who love serious comfort foods! Enjoy! -- Carrie) 

Before I went gluten-free one of my favorite places to eat lunch was this little place called "The Sugar Plum Shop." Actually you never ate there, you just picked up your food and went on your merry way.

At Sugar Plum you had the choice of three items: a pimiento cheese sandwich, a chicken salad sandwich, or a slice of Moravian Chicken Pie. More often than not, I had the pie.

The pie was basically cooked chicken in a thick sauce poured into a pie crust and topped with with an additional crust or a savory crumble topping. It sounds kinda boring, but it was and still is serious comfort food. No veggies (of course you could add them if you want), just sauce and tons of meaty chicken and flaky crust.

While we were recently traveling I bought some gluten-free frozen pie crusts at Earthfare and the first thing that popped into my mind was Moravian pie. I hadn't had any in years, I think since I had been gluten-free... and I thought... these crusts are MEANT for a savory chicken pie.

I don't know actual background of the pie. We have a history of the Moravian community in the Piedmont area of North Carolina and I think the idea of this pie may have originated there. It's also similar to some pie recipes I've seen in Amish cookbooks. It is simple, comfort-food cooking at it's very best.  Go ahead add veggies if you want.. but really, just give me the plain 'ol chicken pie!

Here's how I make it: 

Gluten-Free Moravian Chicken Pie

free of gluten/dairy/soy

adapted by carrie of gingerlemongirl.com

printer-friendly recipe

Crust:

1 - 8" or 9" prepared gluten-free, dairy-free pie crust, unbaked (store-bought or homemade -- scroll to the bottom of the page for the pie crust recipe)

Filling: 

2 1/2 cups cooked chicken (or the cooked meat from a small roasting chicken)

2 tablespoons butter or coconut oil

3 tablespoons brown rice flour

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground pepper

1- 1 1/2 cups gluten-free chicken broth (or use the broth from cooking the chicken)

Crumble Topping: 

1/4 cup brown rice flour

3 tablespoons butter or coconut oil

pinch salt

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sauce pan melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons of brown rice flour, sea salt, and ground pepper. Whisk to cook flour in the butter for 2-3 minutes. Slowly pour in the gluten-free chicken broth. Start with 1 cup and if you want a more "saucy" pie add the additional 1/2 cup of broth. Whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until sauce has thickened. Add cooked chicken to the sauce. Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes to heat chicken through. Pour chicken and sauce into the prepared gluten-free pie crust. In a small bowl mix together the topping ingredients: 1/4 cup brown rice flour, 3 tablespoons of butter, and a pinch of salt. Sprinkle the crumbly mixture evenly over the surface of the pie. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the sauce around the edges of the pie is bubbly and the top of the pie is golden brown. Allow pie to cool for about 20 minutes before serving. Serve with steamed veggies on the side or a fresh green salad. This pie is delicious hot or cold! 

Gluten Free "Crustless" Pumpkin Pie Recipe

It dawned on me when I posted my yearly gluten free Thanksgiving Menu that I had never shared my favorite recipe for pumpkin pie.

The main reason is because I figured this was one of those super easy recipes that everybody already has. Or already knows how to make...But then I decided even if that may be the case, but I'm going to share it anyway. Hope you don't mind. The pie is based on good ol' Libby's traditional recipe. I make the pie dairy free with coconut milk, and I double the spices because I'm a little wild & crazy like that. :-)

While I've always loved a good, crispy, flaky crust... the pumpkin filling has always been my favorite part. I love the warm spices and the super creamy texture. I do like a little crunch too though... To get that crunch with each slice I add pecan halves around the pie. Isn't it pretty? But if you're not a fan of pecans (you poor thing!) simply leave them off.

I use sorghum or millet flour in this recipe to create the "crust-like" texture around the edge of the pie You might call this pie an "Impossible" pie --the bisquick people made recipes like this popular. You can use the same amount of gluten free bisquick or GF master mix in place of the flour called for. If you go that route, simply leave out the baking soda called for in the recipe below.  Alternately, to make the pie more "paleo" friendly you could use 3 tablespoons of coconut flour in place of the gluten free flour.

Who needs a traditional crust?

Gluten Free Crustless Pumpkin Pie
Created by Carrie Forbes of Gingerlemongirl.com
Free of gluten, dairy/casein, soy, and corn
Printer-friendly recipe

Dry Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar -or- coconut palm sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup sorghum or millet flour -or- 3 tablespoons coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Wet Ingredients:
2 large eggs
1 (13.5 oz.) can full-fat coconut milk
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling!)
2 tablespoons olive oil

Optional:
1/2 cup - 1 cup pecan halves

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl whisk together all the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and whisk in the wet ingredients. Thoroughly mix into a thick batter. Pour batter into a large 9" pie plate that's been greased with non-stick cooking spray or olive oil. Optional -- If you'd like, line the pecan halves around the edge of the pie and make a small circle in the middle. Bake in the 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes until set in the middle. The pie will only jiggle slightly in the middle when done and a toothpick inserted in the middle should come out mostly clean. Allow pie to cool for about an hour, then slice and serve.

gluten free blueberry cobbler recipe

Keeping a big batch of gluten free master baking mix in the cabinet is really helpful. On Saturday, I had a partial container of blueberries that were way past their prime, along with a bag of frozen blueberries that I really needed to use up.

My friend Heather A. came to me a few months ago with an old recipe for blueberry cobbler she had when she was growing up. She wanted to make it gluten free. I don't remember ever really talking about what she should use to make it... so she figured out how to make it gluten free all on her own. Several days later she & her husband met us for dinner at a local restaurant and she brought along her homemade blueberry cobbler. I hadn't had a cobbler like this in ages... with a crusty, cinnamon-y biscuit crust and a wonderfully rich, purple, and just-sweet-enough, blueberry filling. It was delicious.  Between the four of us we completely devoured that cobbler and probably could have eaten another one! Soon after I tried to make the cobbler at home... I added more ingredients, changed things a bit... and it just wasn't as good. Heather was right... keeping it simple was the key to this awesome cobbler.

Saturday when I decided to make the cobbler again I wanted to use my Master Baking Mix. I realized this made making a gluten free version even easier... and it made a darn good casserole. I think even Heather would approve!

Heather's Gluten Free Blueberry Cobbler
adapted by Carrie at gingerlemongirl.com
free of gluten, dairy/casein, eggs, and soy
printer-friendly recipe

Batter Ingredients:
1 cup Gluten Free Master Baking Mix (or gluten free Bisquick)
1/3 cup almond milk
2 tablespoons sugar

Filling Ingredients:
3/4 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch -or- arrowroot starch
3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Topping:
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tbsp. butter -or- coconut oil -or- non-stick cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a small casserole dish and set aside. In a small bowl mix together the gluten free master baking mix, almond milk and 2 tablespoons of sugar until you have a thick batter. Set aside. In a small saucepan add water, 2/3 cup sugar, and cornstarch. Mix or whisk together and cook over high heat, stirring constantly until boiling. Allow to boil for 1 minute. The cornstarch/water mixture will turn translucent and thicken. Remove from heat and add blueberries.  Pour blueberry filling into the greased baking dish. Drop the master mix batter by tablespoons on top of the blueberry filling and use a fork to spread evenly over the casserole. It doesn't have to be perfectly covered. Mix cinnamon and 2 teaspoons sugar in a small bowl and sprinkle over the top of the casserole. Dot with butter, coconut oil, or spritz the top of the casserole with non-stick cooking spray (this will help the casserole to brown). Bake for 25-30 minutes until the top of the casserole is golden brown and the blueberry filling is bubbling around the edges. If your casserole dish is too small, you may want to place a cookie sheet underneath the dish to keep it from spilling over in your oven. Allow to cool for about 30 minutes before serving. Serve as is or at room temperature... serve with ice-cream, whipped cream... or my favorite -- just plain the way it is! Enjoy!

Gluten Free Amish Shoofly Pie Recipe

Today's recipe is from the archives. A few years ago Michael and I visited Lancaster Co. Pennsylvania for our anniversary. It was a trip I'll never forget. We stayed on a small farm and just enjoyed watching the life around us. Girls in bonnets with bare feet running down the dirt road from our B&B. Visiting a Mennonite church with our host family. Riding hours on back roads to find covered bridges. It was such a peaceful and beautiful trip. 

I had just barely started the gluten free diet when we took that trip. I'm sure I ate many things I shouldn't have. I wasn't as knowledgeable as I am now about eating in restaurants safely. I was still eating dairy and soy. So many things have changed in four years!  

When we came back home from PA, Ginger asked me about making a Shoofly Pie. I had bought a locally written cookbook on my trip. I read them like novels, gluten free or not. Don't stop buying gluten-filled cookbooks -- you can learn so much about cooking and baking techniques with well written cookbooks of any type. I remember being really excited thumbing through the handwritten book and finding a simple recipe for Shoofly Pie. Looking at this recipe again today, I was thrilled that it naturally contains no dairy and no soy! This is one of the first baked goods I shared on GingerLemonGirl and I'd be proud to serve it just as much today as I did in October 2007. 

Shoofly Pie doesn’t even need the traditional pie shell. So if want to cut back on carbs, or just don’t want to go to the trouble of making a gluten-free crust: just pour the pie filling into a 8x8 glass baking dish, or pie tin and bake as directed for shoofly pie brownies!

Amish Shoofly Pie

• 1 ¼ cup brown rice flour -or- sorghum flour

• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum -or- guar gum (optional -- just a bit more crumbly without it!) 

• ½ cup brown sugar

• 1 Tbsp. Spectrum Palm Shortening

• 1 cup molasses

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• ¾ cup boiling water

• 1 egg, slightly beaten

• 1 prepared gluten-free pie shell (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together flour and sugar. Cut in shortening to make crumbs. Save ½ cup of crumbs for top of pie. In large metal bowl, mix together molasses, baking soda, and boiling water. (This will foam and bubble, it’s fun to watch!) Let molasses mixture cool. Add flour mixture to the molasses mixture and whisk until combined. Add beaten egg. Pour into prepared pie shell or 8x8 glass baking dish and sprinkle reserved crumbs on top. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Slice into 8 pieces, serve, and smile!

A few more of my favorite memories from Lancaster, Co. PA:

Gluten Free German Apple Pancakes

Gluten Free Baked Oatmeal

Simple Baked Apples - Easy Gluten Free Desserts

Photo courtesy of Andrew Crowley

*This is a guest post I shared in 2008 on $5 Dinners.com. I am so ready for fall weather! Even though autumn is still a few months away I thought this would be a great time to share one of my favorite easy desserts! You don't even need a pie crust to enjoy baked apples. Simple, healthy, and delicious!

One of my favorite things about being gluten free is that the desserts are wonderful! Believe it or not, using gluten free flours to make brownies, cakes, or cookies can be a lot of fun and incredibly tasty!!

But as much as I love to bake, sometimes it's easier to simply make something naturally gluten free!

My favorite naturally gluten free dessert: Fruit!

Fruit is so healthy, delicious, and full of natural sugar & fiber that sometimes it simply makes the best dessert you'll ever have!

The dessert I'm sharing with you today is one of my favorites to make for company. It is elegant, sweet, and has a lovely presentation! I grew up surrounded by apple orchards in southwest Virginia. We ate a lot of apples and I still love them!

When apples are baked they caramelize and turn a beautiful golden brown. The are deliciously sweet and make a perfect light dessert! We enjoy this year round, although primarily in the fall when apples are abundant and very frugal. Even off season though, apples are a great frugal choice for desserts and snacks. This dessert will easily fall around $3 total depending on the prices you can find on pecans and apples. I think it's an extremely budget-friendly and healthy choice!

I prefer not to peel my apples, as the peel is incredibly healthy and why waste such a nutritious part of your dessert!

Photo courtesy of Goldfinch Restaurant.

Carrie's Simple Baked Apples
a simple technique for baked fruit

4-5 Gala -or- Honeycrisp apples, washed and cored, and sliced
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Directions:
Spritz a medium sized casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Place apple slices skin side down on the baking dish. Drizzle honey evenly over the apples. Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg evenly over the apples and lastly chopped pecans. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes until apples are golden and tender. Serve immediately. makes 4-6 servings.

**To make an apple crisp, in a small bowl simply mix together: 1/4 cup almond flour, 1/4 cup gluten free rolled oats, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons coconut oil. Mix it all together and sprinkle over the apples before baking. This will crisp up and make a beautiful dessert! It's awesome served with coconut milk ice cream!

Enjoy!!

Gluten Free Raw Berry Blueberry Pie & Pudding Recipe

I really like pudding. It was one of my favorite foods as a child and I still love it. Unfortunately most puddings are made with milk, which is a no-no. They are also usually very processed and contain ingredients that I no longer want myself or my family to eat.

I've attempted making coconut milk pudding in the past, but I wasn't able to perfect the texture and flavor. After doing a little research, I realized that chia seeds (which I had only been tossing into smoothies) can naturally thicken up a non-dairy pudding or pie filling. Chia seeds are a great natural vegetarian alternative to gelatin to create a gel-like texture to foods. They are often used in egg free baking because ground chia meal and whole chia seeds become gelatinous much like an egg white when mixed with warm or hot water. Chia seeds are a great source of super healthy soluble and non-soluble fiber, omega 3 fatty acids, and are an excellent vegetarian source of protein.

I wish I had thought of creating this recipe while my nephew Christopher was visiting with us. He loves yogurt and I think I could have convinced him to eat this wonderfully healthy "pudding!" Especially if I had put it in a Dan-o-nino cup... lol...

This was my first non-smoothie experiment in my new (refurbished) Vitamix. I am so impressed that it completely pulverized the chia seeds into a beautiful & delicious pudding! (Reconditioned Vitamix's are still on sale for only $374, a STEAL compared to their regular price! They are selling out quickly so act fast if you'd like to get one at the reduced price! I don't make any money from recommending them! It's just such an amazing price, if you have been pining for a VM... now's the time!)

Purists may not consider this a raw recipe since I used simmering water mixed with the chia seeds to create the texture for the pie. I'm okay with that. I love the fact that this is such a healthy "dessert" that comes simply from berries, chia seeds, and a little agave.

I will post my almond flour pie crust later this week. I need to tweak the liquid measurements just a bit to get  a better texture. Please stay tuned for a super easy pat-in-the-pan, low glycemic, gluten free pie crust that is perfect for this berry pie!

Raw Berry Blueberry Pudding & Pie Filling
Created by Carrie @ Gingerlemongirl.com
Free of gluten, soy, dairy/casein, grains, eggs, granulated sugar, and yeast
Printer-friendly recipe.

1 quart fresh strawberries, tops removed
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
3 tablespoons chia seeds
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup agave nectar -or- sweetener of choice
1 prepared 9" gluten free pie crust

Directions
Heat 1/2 cup of water until it just comes to a simmer. Remove it from the heat and add the chia seeds. Stir quickly as the mixture becomes gelled. If the mixture is too stiff stir in up to 2 tablespoons additional water until it is pourable. Add sweetener to the chia mixture and stir until combined. Add chia mixture to your blender or vitamix. Add strawberries & blueberries. In the Vitamix, slowly bring up to 10 and process for 1-2 minutes until mixture is completely smooth and blended. Pour mixture into your prepared pie crust. Refrigerate at least 2 hours (and up to overnight for the best flavor and texture). Cut into slices and serve.

Enjoy!

Fresh Strawberry Pie Again!! (Gluten Free)

I have such amazing memories of being in the kitchen with my great-grandmother. Her best dessert is a fresh strawberry pie. I believe this is the only way you should make a strawberry pie!

Making this pie marks the beginning of spring for me. In eastern NC, spring seems to get here earlier and earlier each year. These beautiful berries were my first purchase from a local strawberry farm. Thankfully they will be selling them through May, so you can bet neighbors will be getting a strawberry pie or two this month!

Strawberry pie is actually a very simple pie to make. I try to make several gluten free pie crusts ahead of time and freeze them. That way, when it's strawberry season, you can just pull out your ready made pie crust, bake it, and you are ready to go!

Here is how to make my grandmother's strawberry pie:

Buy a quart of strawberries from a local farmer! If you are going to use them immediately rinse them off, and place them in the fridge. If you are going to use them later, DO NOT RINSE until you are ready to use them!!

Cut the strawberries into slices or quarters. I did a little of both!

Gather your ingredients for the strawberry gelatin, this is going to be the wonderful gooey stuff that holds the pie together! We'll use cornstarch, lemon juice, sugar, and plain ol' strawberry gelatin.

In a saucepan, mix together 1 cup of water, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, and 3/4 cup of sugar. Let this mixture come to a boil for 3 minutes.

Take the thick-syrupy mixture off the heat and add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of strawberry gelatin. Mix together thoroughly.

Let this yummy sweet syrupy mixture cool for 5-10 minutes.

Grab your favorite pie plate!
Okay, you don't have to use this specific plate, but it sure makes it seem more authentic!

Here is my pie crust before prebaking. Make sure when you are prebaking the crust to use a fork and put holes in the bottom crust! This will keep your crust from bubbling and cracking. You can also place a sheet of foil over the unbaked crust and place pie weights or a bag of beans on top of the foil to weigh down the crust while baking.

Once your pie crust is completely cool. Spread about 4 tablespoons of cream cheese over the bottom. This will act as a shield against the pie filling and keep your crust nice and crispy!

Next, fold your strawberries into the cooled strawberry syrup/gelatin and pour this mixture into your crust. It will be a beautiful bright red! Refridgerate the pie for 2-3 hours before serving. This will allow the syrup/gelatin mixture to completely firm up and set.

Here is my second pie. I ran out of strawberries, so I added some frozen wild blueberries that I defrosted and rinsed.

Serve up this pie with a big dollop of whipped cream! Enjoy!!

My Great-Grandma P.'s Strawberry Pie
free of gluten and soy

printer-friendly recipe

1 quart strawberries, rinsed, patted dry, and quartered or sliced
1 gluten free pie shell, baked and cooled
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons strawberry gelatin (Jello)
4 tablespoons reduced fat cream cheese

Directions:
In a medium sized saucepan whisk together water, cornstarch, and sugar. Bring to a rolling boil. Continue to boil for three minutes. Mixture should be think and gel-like. Take off heat and stir in lemon juice and strawberry gelatin. Set mixture aside and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Warm cream cheese in a small bowl in microwave for 20 seconds. Spread cream cheese over the bottom of your cooled gluten free pie crust. This will act as a barrier between your pie crust and your pie filling to keep your crust crispy. Fold cut strawberries into the strawberry gel mixture and pour into pie shell. Refridgerate 2-3 hours before serving so pie will set. Calories do not count when serving strawberry pie! Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Almond Joy Impossible Pie (Gluten Free)

I've mentioned my friend Clara several times. She's a gem of a friend who shares my random sense of humor, and my new love of almond flour!

I cannot sing the praises of this wonderful, naturally gluten free flour enough. I'm tempted to turn into Elana of Elana's Pantry, who uses almond or other nut flours exclusively in her cooking and baking. She's a genius! (If only I could be that skinny!)

I decided this holiday season that I didn't want to spend so much time working on pie crusts. Don't get me wrong, I do love a good pie crust. I've even created some really tasty gluten free versions that I'm quite proud of. But they also take a lot of time and planning to prepare.

And I like easy. I'm all about easy.

In my pre-gluten-free days I often made "Impossible Pies." Basically a simple savory or sweet pie that creates it's own crust during baking. You include a small amount of flour or a baking mix like bisquick in the pie batter which rises all around the pie and voila... instant crust!

I love those kinds of pies! Last year, I created a gluten free custard pie with this concept. I loved that pie and I decided to play around with that idea and make a new pie with almond flour. And chocolate. And coconut. And that wonderful gluten free Master Baking Mix.

Do you see where I'm going with this? Yes.

An Almond Joy Pie. Oh my. This pie may not be the prettiest girl on the block, but she is absolutely one of the most delicious pies I've ever tasted!!

The almond flour and finely shredded coconut make an amazingly decedent, golden crust. The chocolate chips sink to the bottom to create the ultimate "melt-in-your-mouth" sensation.

This pie is gluten free, (can be) casein free, low in saturated fats, low in sugar, and has no added salt. Enjoy this pie without an ounce of guilt!

This is probably my favorite pie this season. I promise you'll love it!




Almond Joy Impossible Pie

Wet Ingredients:
2 eggs
3 tablespoons coconut oil or butter
1 (12 oz.) can coconut milk
1 teaspoon almond extract (**optional -- see notes**)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
**1/4 cup sugar substitute equivalent of your choice (or another 1/4 cup sugar)

Dry Ingredients:
1/4 cup GF Master Mix (or 1/4 cup gf flour of your choice with 1/4 teaspoon baking powder)
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Whisk together all dry ingredients into a large bowl. Make a "well" in the center of the dry ingredients and add all wet ingredients. Whisk wet ingredients together thoroughly and whisk with dry ingredients. Pour into a greased 10" pie pan. Bake @ 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean!


Carrie's Notes:

** Sugar Substitute = I'm becoming a big fan of an all natural substitute called "Truvia" It's made from the same plant as Stevia, but it's a non-bitter formula. I have been using this the past few weeks. I will substitute up to half of the sugar in a recipe with Truvia. For this recipe, I used 6 packets of Truvia. Each packets equals the sweetness of two teaspoons of regular sugar.

**Almond extract = Clara said that she did not like the addition of almond extract to the pie, she said that it added a bit of an "alcohol" flavor... so use the almond extract with caution, or use none-at-all!


(Printer Friendly Version)

Pecan Pumpkin Pie Bars (Gluten Free)

Easy. Simple. Delicious.

If you need something super easy for your gluten free Thanksgiving dinner, but don't want to add too many extra pounds, these delicious bars are the way to go.

These simple bars will put a smile on your face! No need for a complicated recipe or expensive ingredients. Just plain easy, delicious, and gluten free! I promise these bars will even please your gluten-eating family members!!

The bars have a "cookie/granola" like crust made from a few simple ingredients, then a basic pumpkin pie filling, and topped with pecans and sugar.

This would be delicious with a scoop of ice-cream or whipped cream! The best part is you don't have to worry about a time-consuming gluten free pie crust!! This dessert is low in fat, low in sugar, no added salt, and gluten free!

**Also, to make this casein free, simply use coconut oil instead of butter, and use coconut milk in place of the regular milk called for! Easy peasy!!





Carrie's Pecan Pumpkin Pie Bars
free of gluten, soy, and options for dairy-free
created by Carrie of Gingerlemongirl.com
Printer-friendly recipe.

Crust:
1/2 cup almond flour
**1/2 cup Carrie's Master Baking Mix (or other GF baking mix)
1/2 cup gluten free old fashioned oats or flaked quinoa
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup softened butter -or- heart healthy margarine -or- coconut oil

Filling:
1/2 cup turbinado sugar (or regular sugar)
2 cups pure pumpkin puree
1 cup skim milk -or- evaporated milk -or- coconut milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Topping:
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup turbinado sugar (or regular sugar)

Whipped Cream or Ice Cream

Directions:

For Crust: Combine all crust ingredients until mixture is crumbly. (This took several minutes using a fork to combine until crumbly.) Press mixture into a greased 13x9" baking pan.

For Filling: Combine all filling ingredients into a large bowl and whisk together until thoroughly combined. Pour pumpkin pie filling over crust.

For Topping: Combine chopped pecans and sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle pecan topping over pumpkin pie filling.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of the bars comes out clean.

Let cool completely before cutting. Makes 16 pecan pumpkin pie bars! Top with whipped cream or ice cream and enjoy!!


** If you do not have any of my Gluten Free Master Baking Mix for the crust handy, simply use 1/4 cup brown rice flour, 1/4 cup tapioca starch, and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Cardamom Pumpkin Custard Pie (Gluten Free)

(Reprinted from November 21, 2007.
This is a delicious variation on the traditional pumpkin pie! Cardamom gives this pie exceptional flavor. This pie miraculously creates its own crust and is a wonderfully light alternative to a traditional pumpkin pie! Enjoy!!)

Sounds kinda like a crazy rock song doesn't it... or a strange version of Cinderella... or an odd way to play Twister... ;-)

It's actually just a simple. little. delicious. pie.

I've been wracking my brain to figure out exactly what pie I wanted to make this Thanksgiving. I will make a Libby's traditional pumpkin pie. You just can't beat tradition sometimes folks. And I really LOVE a Libby's pie... but you know me... I want to try something new... something different!

So last weekend, I made a test run on a simple, easy, one-bowl pie recipe (crust and all!) I love this pie because it creates it's own crust! For us gluten-freebies, anything to make crust-making easier, is completely worth it! Also, with the exception of one ingredient, the pie is naturally gluten-free. And, to make it even easier, most of the ingredients are pantry friendly! You probably have all of them right now just waiting to be used!

It's light and cozy. Simple and slightly sweet. I loved this pie cold, but it was very good warm! SO it's perfect either as a make-ahead dish (my favorite kind!) or to make right away! Whichever you prefer!

I took most of this pie to work because Michael is not a custard lover (although he loves quiche... I don't get it!) The folks at work ate the whole thing with smiles on their faces (and didn't have a clue it was gluten-free!) So I think this would completely pass with your gluten-happy family at Thanksgiving!! I'll be making this pie again tonight and putting it in the fridge for the big day tomorrow!

Cardamom Pumpkin Custard Pie
Created by Carrie of Gingerlemongirl.com
Free of gluten and soy
For a printer friendly version of this recipe, click here.

4 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups milk (I used canned, evaporated milk)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup pure pumpkin puree
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/2 tsp. *cardamom
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:
Beat eggs with sugar until light and fluffy. Add milk, vanilla, and pumpkin puree. In a small bowl, mix sorghum flour, and spices. Whisk in flour mixture a little bit at a time, making sure it's fully incorporated with egg mixture. Pour custard into a lightly greased pie tin. Sprinkle top of custard with additional cinnamon and grated nutmeg, if desired. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. During baking the flour will form a light crust around the top and bottom of the pie! Cut to serve in wedges. Garnish with a generous spoonful of whipped cream and a sprinkling of cinnamon.

*NOTE: If you do not have cardamom on hand, it's okay! Leave it out! The nutmeg will provide enough flavoring, but I love the scent and taste of cardamom!

Sweet Potato Pie (Gluten Free)

One of my favorite things about fall is sweet potatoes. In eastern NC, sweet potatoes are a huge cash crop. The first 3 years that Michael and I were married our home was surrounded by fields. The crops were rotated every fall, but at least two years sweet potatoes were grown. After the primary crops were taken from the fields we gleaned the leftover sweet potatoes. It was such a blessing!

I can't tell you how many sweet potatoes we ate during those years! I can tell you that I made many a sweet potato pie!

We still live in a very rural area and our back yard faces soybean fields. While we no longer have sweet potato fields to glean, thankfully they are a local food that can be bought frugally.

For Thanksgiving this year I will be bringing this pie to my Aunt Linda's house. Sweet potatoes are such an easy vegetable to cook that it's a snap to make this pie!

I actually prefer the taste of sweet potato pie to pumpkin. I hope you will try it this year and tell me what you think!


Sweet Potato Pie

1 unbaked gluten free pie crust (I used this one)
2 cups sweet potatoes, boiled and mashed
2 eggs
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar

Spices:
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl combine all spices with sugar. In a large bowl beat eggs lightly. Add mashed sweet potatoes and sugar/spice mixture to eggs. Mix together thoroughly. Gradually add in evaporated milk. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes in preheated 425 degree oven. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 40-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool completely before serving.

Enjoy!

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NOTE: I make a ring of aluminum foil to place around the crust of the pie while baking. This prevents the crust from overly browning or burning.

Easy Gluten Free Pie Crust

If I could give you the best recipes on to try from Ginger Lemon Girl... I would say try those incredible chocolate chip cookies, my Everyday Carrot Cake, my sandwich bread, my cream cheese meltaways, and the lovely pie crust we're featuring here today!

I cannot tell you how excited I am about this pie crust. It's EASY. Really, really easy, and it's so simple. It rolls out beautifully, even compared to that other crust I really love (yet actually made me so mad two weeks ago that I threw my rolling pin across the kitchen in a moment of sheer "pie-crust-roll-out" anger!)

This crust is also flaky and delicious. Keep in mind that it is also not one bit healthy. It uses an entire stick of butter for ONE CRUST. It's also an "all-starch" crust, save for the redeeming bit of sorghum flour... but for goodness sakes, is a pie crust really supposed to be healthy? Of course not! IT'S PIE crust!

This recipe is actually a revamp of my Cream Cheese Meltaways cookies. Last Christmas when I made these cookies I realized that they completely did not spread when I baked them. So I decided to roll them out and make sugar cookies with them as well. The dough made PERFECT sugar cookies and it rolled out like a charm. The wheels started turning way back then about using the dough as a pie crust. I exchanged most of the sugar in the recipe for a bit more flour and said a prayer! It worked. It made a PERFECT crust. A gluten free crust that was easy to handle. A gluten free crust that was forgiving. It's the best pie crust I've ever made.

Don't shy away from the long directions! They are NOT hard, simply thorough! I will add pictures the next time I make the crust, so you can see how delightfully easy it is!


Easy Gluten Free Pie Crust

4 ounces cream cheese **
4 ounces (1/2 cup, or 1 stick) butter**
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar


Directions:

*30 minutes before making pie crust, remove butter and cream cheese from fridge and set on counter to soften.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix together softened cream cheese and butter. Mix remaining dry ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. Add dry mixture slowly to cream cheese mixture. If you use a stand mixer this will be easy, and you can slowly combine the ingredients on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until dough forms a stiff ball. If mixing by hand, this may take 5-8 minutes to combine well enough to form into a stiff ball.

You can chill dough if you like, but you can also use this dough immediately. When ready to use dough, place two sheets of a good quality plastic wrap on your counter or table. Place the sheets of plastic wrap side by side, slightly overlapping, to give you enough space to roll out a 9"or 10" crust. Sprinkle white rice flour on the plastic wrap and place the dough in the center.

Sprinkle additional white rice flour on top of the ball of dough. Then, place a new sheet of plastic wrap on top of the ball of dough (so it won't stick to the roller) and start to roll out your pie crust starting from the center. Roll out the crust to 1/4" thickness, or however thick you desire. I actually had enough dough to make a large 10" pie crust along with a smaller 8" pie crust. So you could probably make 2 (9") crusts with this dough if you desired.

Gently place crust in pie or tart shell and bake as directed in your recipe of choice.

*** Please be aware that because the dough does not contain gluten it may STILL tear while you are transferring it to the pie tin. That is OKAY!! This dough is very forgiving and you can simply press the dough back together in the pie tin and even "patch" the dough if necessary with leftover crust! It will "mesh" together beautifully and is very, very forgiving!! ***

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Additional Gluten Free Pie Crust Hints and Tips:

To prebake shell for fruit pies or savory pies and tarts: Simply press crust into your pie tin or tart shell and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Add fillings and follow your recipe as directed.

** Casein Free Pie Crust Options: While I have not tried, this, I believe you could successfully use Tofutti in place of the cream cheese and a casein free shortening such as Crisco or possibly Spectrum in place of the butter with successful results. If you try this, please let me know how it works for you!

Sweet and Savory Crust Flavor Options: For sweet pie crusts or for fruit pies, I would add an additional tablespoon or two of sugar to the crust. You could even add a splash of vanilla or cinnamon. For a more savory crust for meat pies and tarts, add italian seasonings, fresh dill, or garlic... there are SO many things you can do with this crust!

Make your own pie crust mix: Simply mix together all dry ingredients together and place in a ziplock bag or tightly sealed container of your choice so that you can quickly put together a gluten free pie crust in minutes. I am going to make 6-8 bags of this pie crust mix for the upcoming holidays!

Corn-free option: If you cannot use cornstarch, arrowroot flour or sweet rice flour can be used in place of the cornstarch.

Using Quality Plastic Wrap to roll out dough: I have learned that cheap plastic wrap will not work properly when you are trying to roll out a pie crust. Trust me... you'll end up throwing your rolling pin across the kitchen and shouting things that are never normally uttered from your mouth. I recommend using a product such as Saran Wrap, or something similar, which will perfectly stick to your counters and the dough without being TOO sticky or not sticky enough (either of which can make the dough VERY hard to work with!!)

Stay tuned for the recipe for that delicious Sweet Tomato and Feta Tart you see pictured above!

Fresh Strawberry Pie (Gluten Free)

I have such amazing memories of being in the kitchen with my great-grandmother. Her best dessert is a fresh strawberry pie. I believe this is the only way you should make a strawberry pie!

Making this pie marks the beginning of spring for me. In eastern NC, spring seems to get here earlier and earlier each year. These beautiful berries were my first purchase from a local strawberry farm. Thankfully they will be selling them through May, so you can bet neighbors will be getting a strawberry pie or two this month!

Strawberry pie is actually a very simple pie to make. I try to make several gluten free pie crusts ahead of time and freeze them. That way, when it's strawberry season, you can just pull out your ready made pie crust, bake it, and you are ready to go!

Here is how to make my grandmother's strawberry pie:

Buy a quart of strawberries from a local farmer! If you are going to use them immediately rinse them off, and place them in the fridge. If you are going to use them later, DO NOT RINSE until you are ready to use them!!

Cut the strawberries into slices or quarters. I did a little of both!

Gather your ingredients for the strawberry gelatin, this is going to be the wonderful gooey stuff that holds the pie together! We'll use cornstarch, lemon juice, sugar, and plain ol' strawberry gelatin.

In a saucepan, mix together 1 cup of water, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, and 3/4 cup of sugar. Let this mixture come to a boil for 3 minutes.

Take the thick-syrupy mixture off the heat and add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of strawberry gelatin. Mix together thoroughly.

Let this yummy sweet syrupy mixture cool for 5-10 minutes.

Grab your favorite pie plate!
Okay, you don't have to use this specific plate, but it sure makes it seem more authentic!

Here is my pie crust before prebaking. Make sure when you are prebaking the crust to use a fork and put holes in the bottom crust! This will keep your crust from bubbling and cracking. You can also place a sheet of foil over the unbaked crust and place pie weights or a bag of beans on top of the foil to weigh down the crust while baking.

Once your pie crust is completely cool. Spread about 4 tablespoons of cream cheese over the bottom. This will act as a shield against the pie filling and keep your crust nice and crispy!

Next, fold your strawberries into the cooled strawberry syrup/gelatin and pour this mixture into your crust. It will be a beautiful bright red! Refridgerate the pie for 2-3 hours before serving. This will allow the syrup/gelatin mixture to completely firm up and set.

Here is my second pie. I ran out of strawberries, so I added some frozen wild blueberries that I defrosted and rinsed.

Serve up this pie with a big dollop of whipped cream! Enjoy!!

My Great-Grandma P.'s Strawberry Pie
free of gluten and soy

printer-friendly recipe

1 quart strawberries, rinsed, patted dry, and quartered or sliced
1 gluten free pie shell, baked and cooled
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons strawberry gelatin (Jello)
4 tablespoons reduced fat cream cheese

Directions:
In a medium sized saucepan whisk together water, cornstarch, and sugar. Bring to a rolling boil. Continue to boil for three minutes. Mixture should be think and gel-like. Take off heat and stir in lemon juice and strawberry gelatin. Set mixture aside and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Warm cream cheese in a small bowl in microwave for 20 seconds. Spread cream cheese over the bottom of your cooled gluten free pie crust. This will act as a barrier between your pie crust and your pie filling to keep your crust crispy. Fold cut strawberries into the strawberry gel mixture and pour into pie shell. Refridgerate 2-3 hours before serving so pie will set. Calories do not count when serving strawberry pie! Serve with fresh whipped cream.