Andy Makes his First Pie!

I just have to share these pictures of my 10 year old son making his first pie!

He keeps bugging me that he wants to actually learn to cook and bake, not just help out. He figures if he is going to survive in a gluten filled world without his mommy, he'd better learn!

Today I asked him if he wanted to make a pie (thinking we'd make something fairly easy like Raspberry) and he very excitedly said yes! But it had to be a lemon meringue pie!

He did a really good job. I had to read the recipe to him and I had to walk him through it - and I took it in and out of the oven - but this pie is 98% all his! I am super proud of him.

Rolling out the dough. I had frozen pie dough in the freezer so that part was pretty easy - no mixing. This is the mix from the gluten free pantry.

Squeezing lemons.

Measuring corn starch

Breaking an egg

Stirring - he was mad that I asked him to turn his head so I could see his face!

Beating the egg whites into meringue.

Putting the meringue on the pie. He really liked that part.

Spreading the meringue all the way to the edges so it doesn't "weep"

And there is my proud baker with his finished pie cooling on the stove top!

I'll post my recipe later - just wanted to share the pictures with you right away!

GFCF Fresh Raspberry Pie

Kathi’s Fresh Raspberry Pie

4 cups fresh raspberries

1 cup raw sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons minute tapioca

4 tablespoons water

2 - 9” pie crusts of your choice (I use the perfect pie crust mix from the gluten free pantry)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Line pie plate with one pie crust
3. Mix all ingredients together and spoon into bottom pie crust
4. Place other pie crust on top, flute and seal edges.
5. Make slits in the top so that steam can escape.
6. Bake for 10 minutes at 425, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and cook for 45 minutes

8 servings

Yum Yum GFCF Pie

It is so yummy. It is half blueberry and half currants. We got blueberries this week from our CSA and Dan immediately wanted pie - but there wasn't enough so I picked a few currants and added them.

I used a pie crust mix from the gluten free pantry this time.

I used 4 cups of berries.
Mix together 1 cup sugar (use less if using all blueberries), 1/4 instant tapioca and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Mix with berries and put in unbaked pie shell. Cover with another pie crust. Bake for 40 minutes at 425 degrees.

GFCF Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I made a GFCF Strawberry Rhubarb Pie twice recently. It got eaten before I could get a pic of it - it was that good!

It was one of those funny kitchen times - you know the kind - where it is funny and you laugh because if you actually think about it you will cry.

I had just picked strawberries from the garden and there wasn't quite enough for a pie by themselves so I had the inspiration to make a strawberry rhubarb one. So I go out and get the rhubarb and have everything washed up and sliced up and then I start to make the crust.

I was using my last GF Pie Crust Mix from Miss Robens. I was cutting in the margarine using my pastry cutter and it broke (the pastry cutter) - not only did it break but as it broke apart it caused the bowl to propel itself across the kitchen and landed upside down on the kitchen floor. I just stared at the mess in disbelief. I wanted a pie damn it! And that was my last mix. While I make most things from scratch, my pie crusts just haven't turned out well without a mix.

Frantically I tore the pantry apart hoping beyond reason that I was wrong and there was another pie crust mix in there but no dice. But I came across a Graham Cracker Mix from Miss Robens. Hmmmm - graham cracker crust with strawberry rhubarb......why not? So I made the pie using a graham cracker crust instead and it turned out super yummy.

So - use the crust of your liking and here is the rest of the recipe.

GFCF Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
2 cups sliced rhubarb
2 cups sliced strawberries
1 1/4 cups organic raw sugar (I'm sure you could probably use plain white sugar - but I'm on this health kick you know)
1/4 Minute tapioca
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix the ingredients all together in a large bowl and let sit for at least 15 minutes before pouring into crust. I mix it up first and then make the crust. Fill the crust as desired and bake at 425 degrees F for 45 minutes or until the juices bubble up.

GFCF Apple Pie with Crumb Topping

My husband says this pie is his new favorite - it sure didn't last long.

GFCF Apple Pie with crumb topping

Single Pie Crust (I made one using a mix from Miss Robens)
6 cups chopped and peeled tart apples
2 tablespoons margarine, melted
2 tablespoons Tofutti fake sour cream
4 teaspoons lemon juice
½ cup sugar
¼ cup minute tapioca
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Topping:
½ cup gf flour mixture (I used Bob’s Red Mill GF Mix)
½ cup sugar (I used natural brown)

¼ cup cold margarine

Line a 9 inch pie pan with crust.

In a bowl, combine apples, margarine, sour cream, lemon juice, sugar, tapioca, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon into pie shell.

For topping, combine flour and sugar in a bowl. Cut in margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over filling.

Bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and the apples are tender.

GFCF Currant Pie

It was the hottest day of the year in Minnesota yesterday - so what do I do? I bake a pie! I have an abundance of currants and needed to do something with them. This pie was wonderful. I may have to make another one.

Here is it ready to go into the oven:


And here it is baked:


And here is the recipe:

Currant Pie

2 uncooked pie crusts (I made mine using a mix from Miss Robens)
4 cups fresh currants
¼ cup tapioca
½ cup raw honey*
2 tablespoons margarine melted (I used Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Roll out ½ of the pastry and line a pie plate (I only cook in glass pie plates – using aluminum is not good for your health)

In a medium bowl mix currants, tapioca, honey, margarine, cinnamon and nutmeg

Pour mixture into pie crust

Roll out remaining dough and place over the filling – or cut into strips and place on pie lattice style. Trim, seal and crimp edges – if you put a solid top crust on, be sure and cut steam vents in it.

Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for 45 to 60 minutes more. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack before serving.

*Adjust the amount of honey to your preferred level of sweetness

Miss Roben's new pie crust rocks!

Regular readers will recall that I made a pie for Thanksgiving and used a pie crust mix from Miss Roben's which I reported was not that great. Miss Roben's read the post and sent me a free pie crust mix which they had recently reformulated.

As you can see from the pictures on the post I just made I made a pie today. The crust was wonderful! It was a lot more work than I want to do with a pie crust - using egg and refrigerating for an hour before rolling out - but so worth the effort. I think this crust could almost pass for a normal crust.

So, if you haven't tried Miss Roben's pie crust recently - you really must try it again.

GFCF Rhubarb Sour Cream Pie

Rhubarb “Sour Cream” Pie

Ingredients:

¼ cup Minute Tapioca

1 1/4 Cups Sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1 Cup Tofutti Brand Better than Sour Cream

1 Egg (beaten)

1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 tsp Lemon Extract (I didn’t have extract so I used lemon juice)

3 Cups Rhubarb (cut in 1/2" cubes) I used frozen which I thoroughly drained after it thawed – and used thawed.

CRUMB TOPPING

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt1/4 cup butter (softened)

1 Tbsp cinnamon

Procedure:
Preheat oven to 400F.

Mix everything but the rhubarb together, and then add the rhubarb at the end. Add filling to a 9" pie crust.

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake for another 25 minutes. Remove the pie, and sprinkle the crumb topping on top. Bake at 350 for another 15 minutes or until the topping is brown.

For the topping, simply mix the ingredients together until crumbly.

Yum, Yum! It was delicious!

GFCF Banana Cream Pie

I made this for dessert on Thanksgiving. I used a mix from Miss Roben's for the pie crust and it was not that great - kind of like cardboard. Pie Crust mixes I have used in the past that were great were the graham cracker mix from Miss Roben's and the pie crust mix from the Gluten Free Pantry. The filling is also good just as a pudding. Added Note: Miss Roben's has reformulated their pie crust mix - so don't rule it out yet. They are sending me some to try out. Miss Roben's has great customer service - they want happy customers and it shows.

Banana Cream Pie
1 cup sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
3 cups milk substitute (I used Dari Free)
4 egg yolks
3 tablespoons GFCF Margarine (I use Crystal Farms Dairy Free)
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 bananas, sliced
1 9-inch baked pie shell
In a medium saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Gradually stir in the milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat and cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Beat egg yolks slightly. Stir about 1 cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolks – mix well. Return egg yolk mixture to saucepan and mix well. Bring to a gentle boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and stir in margarine and vanilla. Arrange banana slices in bottom of pie shell. Pour hot filling into pie shell. To prevent a “film” from forming on the top as it cools, put a piece of plastic wrap directly on the filling. Cool to room temperature and then put in fridge to chill thoroughly. Serve with Soy Whip topping.