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In Art of the Pie, Kate McDermott, a home baker who teaches Pie Camps across the country, shares dozes of recipes for all the pie combinations you can dream up. What really blew our mind was her recipe for a gluten-free nutty no-bake crust that we want to eat with a gooey chocolate filling at the next pie opportunity. (Note to self: Create more pie opportunities.) Here, McDermott shares her tips for making gluten-free crusts that would never be mistaken for cardboard. —Alex Beggs
Gluten-free no-bake pie crusts can be made on the fly and tucked away in the fridge to chill, and then paired with a cool and creamy filling. Plus, you can make it in less than two minutes using store-bought cookies or nut meals, melted butter or oil, and a food processor. Here's how:
Step one is to put 7-8 ounces of your favorite gluten-free wafer cookie or biscotti (Pamela's Products are a personal favorite) into a food processor and buzz up them up to make 1½ cups of crumbs. Chocolate, ginger snap, lemon, vanilla, or almond anise? It’s totally your call. As a nod to those who aren’t gluten-free, you can substitute your favorite wafer cookies, too.
Next you’ll melt 4 Tbsp. butter (salted or unsalted), vegan buttery stick, or coconut oil. Virgin coconut oil will give you more of a coconut flavor than lesser quality coconut oil but either will work just fine. Pour the melted fat over the crumbs and buzz everything up again so that the crumbs are well mixed with the melted fat.
Dump the crumbly mix into a 9-inch pie pan and press it out evenly with the back of a spoon or your fingers. Pop the filled pie pan into the fridge to chill while you make the filling. If you aren’t ready to make the filling yet, just cover the unfilled pie shell with plastic wrap and it will be ready when you are. It can stay in the fridge for up to 3 days.
The other, nuttier route (and no-grain or starch option) is 2 cups of almond or hazelnut meal (I use Bob’s Red Mill finely ground almond and hazelnut meal/flour) or a mixture of the two, with a pinch of salt, 5 Tbsp. melted butter, vegan buttery stick, or coconut oil and made in exactly the same way as the cookie crumb version. Just dump everything in the processor and buzz it up.
Dream big. The filling can be anything you’re craving, from chocolate to key lime. Here are some pie recipes to steal filling ideas from:
Vegan chocolate espresso: This would be great with ANY of the crusts.
Butterscotch: I think I’d like to try this with ginger snaps.
Yogurt: Some lemon cookies would be great with this.
Chocolate cream: With or without a meringue this would be perfect to pair with chocolate, gingersnap, vanilla, or almond anise cookies.
Key lime: Do this one with GF graham crackers.
Lemon meringue: Great with lemon, gingersnap, vanilla cookies.
