Recipe of the Week – Gluten Free Praline Pumpkin Pie

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As promised before our hiatus, here is my recipe for Gluten Free Praline Pumpkin Pie! When Michelle had to go gluten-free six years ago due to a diagnosis of lifelong heath issues we were concerned many favorite special treats would have to disappear from her diet. Surely we both had to make major adjustments to our cooking, but over the years we have found and developed our own recipes to include most of our favorite menu items into a gluten-free diet. Pie crust is one of those items. I have found two different pie crusts that work well with non-wheat based flour, a pat-in-the-pan crust that involves no rolling and the one that I have here. I have used them both for sweet and savory pies with great success, but this roll out dough is my favorite because it turns out both crispy and flaky. At Thanksgiving dinner this year with some of our neighbors, the ladies asked how I got the crust so flaky and were shocked to discover it was wheat free! With more than a hundred years of pie making experience at the table, I took it as a great compliment!

Let’s start with the crust. Cut a stick of butter into eight slices and put in the freezer while you gather the rest of the ingredients. You’ll need all purpose gluten free flour (such as Pamela’s Artisan Blend), salt, white and dark brown sugar, pecans, more butter, pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, an egg, and almost every spice in your rack. Finally get a measuring cup of water and add several ice cubes.

Preheat the oven to 450º. In the bowl of a food processor (I love my Ninja) place one and a quarter cups of all purpose gluten free flour blend, a teaspoon of salt, and two tablespoons of sugar (we always use Whey Low sugar substitute) and give it a quick pulse to mix the ingredients. Add the butter directly from the freezer and pulse eight to ten more times to combine into a crumbly texture with pea-sized pieces of butter remaining.

Add four tablespoons of ice cold water to the processor and mix together. The dough should mostly clump together and but still appear dry. If the humidity is dry, you may need one to two more tablespoons of water. Be careful not to end up with a sticky mess or you will not be able to roll it out.

Pour the mixture onto a large piece of parchment paper and press together into a mound. Using as little additional flour as possible and a rolling pin, roll into a thin round circle about an inch bigger than the top of your pie pan.

Don’t worry if the edges crack like mine, you’ll be able to press them back together once you line the pan. If the dough is a little too wet, a second piece of parchment on top may be helpful. Carefully transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie pan. If things totally fall apart here, don’t panic. I’ve always found that the worse the crust looks, the easier time you will have convincing everyone that it’s totally home-made. Break off any pieces that are overhanging the edge of the pan and use them to fill in any gaps or cracks that you have. Tuck the edges down and crimp around the pan to create as decorative and edge as you wish.

In a small bowl soften two tablespoons of butter and add a third of a cup of brown sugar (such as Whey Low Gold) and about half a cup of chopped pecan pieces.

Mix together with your fingers to create a chunky paste and crumble it into the bottom of the pie pan. Bake for ten minutes until the sugar is bubbly and the crust is set.

You do not want the crust to brown at this point. If the crust gets air bubbles, prick it with a fork. If it begins to slide down into the pan, press it back up with the back of a fork. Once the crust is prebaked, set it aside while you make the filling. Lower the oven to 400º.

Melt one tablespoon of butter in a saute pan and add a 15-oz can of pumpkin puree. This will not only give a toasty flavor to the pie but remove excess liquid from the pumpkin. Let it cook for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine a quarter cup of sugar (or Whey Low sugar substitute) a quarter cup of brown sugar (again, Whey Low Gold), two teaspoons of gluten-free all purpose flour blend, one teaspoon of cinnamon, half a teaspoon of ginger, a quarter teaspoon each of salt, nutmeg, and clove, and a dash of allspice. Mix together well to ensure that all of the spices are well combined.

Add one egg and the entire can of evaporated milk and mix thoroughly then stir in the pumpkin. The mixture will be very wet.

Unfortunately this is were things begin to fall apart for me. Because I was cooking several other items at the same time (it was Thanksgiving dinner after all, I forgot to continue taking pictures so you will just have to use your imagination!

Pour the filling into the pie crust. There may be more than you can use, if so, pour the extra into lined muffin cups. Bake the pie for one hour and check that it is set. If the crust is beginning to brown too much, cover the edges with foil to prevent burning. The pie is done when the center is set and no longer jiggles. Don’t worry if the filling cracks in places, you’re going to cover that up with whipped cream anyway, right?

By the way, the secret to the flaky crust? It’s the praline! The caramel layer in the bottom of the crust keeps the pie filling from getting the crust soggy. We hope you enjoy our favorite pumpkin pie, leave a comment below to tell us about your favorite Thankgiving dessert.

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Gluten Free Praline Pumpkin Pie

For the crust

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 1 1/4 cup all ourpose gluten free flour blend
• 1 t salt
• 2 T sugar (may omit if making a savory pie)
• 4 T (or more) ice cold water

For the praline

• 2 T butter, softened
• 1/3 c brown sugar
• 1/2 c chopped pecan pieces

For the filling

• 1 T butter
• 1 15-oz can pumpkin puree
• 1/4 sugar
• 1/4 brown sugar
• 2 t gluten free flour blend
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t ginger
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t nutmeg
• 1/4 t clove
• dash allspice
• 1 egg
• 1 12-oz can evaporated milk

Begin by cutting the butter into 1 T size pieces and and freeze while you gather the remaining ingredients. Pre-heat the oven to 450º.

Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor bowl. Pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse 8-10 times until the butter is mixed but some pea sized pieces remain. Add 4 T ice cold water and pulse again until the dough begins to hold together. You may need to add additional water but be careful that it doesn’t gett too sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a large piece of parchment paper and press together into a flat disk. Useing as little extra flour as possible, roll out the dough with a rolling pin into a circle about 1 inch parger than your pie pan.

Carefully, transfer the crust to a 9-inch pie pan. Press cracks together and pinch the edges to make a decorative crust. Prick the sides of the crust with a fork to keep it from bubbling up. Put the dough in the refridgerator until you are ready to add the praline and bake.

To make the praline, soften the butter and add the brown sugar and pecans. Mix together with your fingers and crumble into the bottom of the pie crust. Bake at 450º for about 10 minutes. Do not the the sides brown and use the back of a fork to press them back up if they start to slouch. When the praline is bubbly, it’s done. Lower the oven to 400º to bake the pie.

Melt another tablespoon of butter in a sauté pan and add the pumpkin. Stir together and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, and spices and mix thoroughly. Add the egg and evaporated milk and whisk until smooth. Stir in the pumpkin. The mixture will be runny. Pour into the pie crust. If there is extra, pour it into lined muffin tins. Bake the pie for approximately 1 hour until the center is set. If the crust begins to get too brown, cover the edges with foil.