Gluten & Dairy Free Pecan Pie Bars

 Shortbread Crust

2 cups vegan baking butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
2 t vanilla
1 t salt
4 cups GF flour with xanthan gum

Spray a metal half-sheet pan with GF spray, and line with a sheet of parchment paper.

Mix the butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add the flour and mix until dough forms. Press firmly into the pan, following the pan up at the edges to help contain the pie filling. Lay a piece of parchment paper on top and roll it out with a rolling pin after it has been evenly distributed. Bake for 15 minutes.

 

Pecan Pie Filling

6 eggs
2 cups corn syrup
2 cups sugar
4 T melted vegan butter
2 t vanilla
3 cups pecan halves, chopped

Beat the eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter, and vanilla. Chop the pecan halves into small pieces and evenly distribute over the shortbread. Pour the filling on top. Bake for 45 minutes.

Chocolate Ganache Topping

12 oz DF chocolate chips
½ cup almond milk

Melt chocolate and milk in a saucepan, mix well, and spread over the pecan pie filling. Allow to cool completely before cutting.

Shepherd's Pie

• ground beef or ground lamb
• salt, pepper, spices
• peas (frozen)
• sweet potatoes (or regular potatoes)
• butter or fake butter
• milk or milk substitute
• carrots
• corn (optional)

Brown ground beef in large pan.  Season meat as you like with salt, pepper and other spices (possibly worcestershire sauce, thyme, rosemary).  Add peas, carrots and corn and mix.  Mash potatoes in a separate container with butter and milk (season with salt and pepper).  Spread meat mixture at the bottom of an appropriate dish (ie, pie dish, casserole, etc).  Spread mashed potatoes on top and place in oven to make potatoes crispy (preheat oven to 400F, use broiler to crisp potatoes).

S'More Pie

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
8 T (1 stick) butter

3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup milk
10 oz semi-sweet chocolate
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 t vanilla extract
2 T sugar

large marshmallows

Heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Pulverize graham crackers in food processor. Melt butter and mix into cracker crumbs. Press into deep pie pan and bake for 8-10 minutes to harden the crust.

In a medium saucepan, whisk cream and milk, and warm over medium-low heat. Add chocolate and stir until melted. Whisk the eggs, and temper them by adding a little of the milk mixture to the eggs while stirring vigorously. Add as much milk mixture as your container will allow, and then add the egg mixture to the saucepan. Pour slowly, and stir while adding. Tempering prevents the egg from being cooked by the hot milk mixture. Scrambled egg in chocolate custard is gross. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and stir until all is dissolved and mixed in. Pour into the pie pan, and bake until the custard is evenly puffed up in the center (15-30 minutes).

Cut the marshmallows in half. Place inside down on top of the pie, covering the pie completely. Set the oven to broil and toast the marshmallows. Watch it the whole time so you don't burn the marshmallows/pie- this only takes 2 minutes or so.

Chill for as long as you can take it. The warmer it is, the harder to cut and serve. The recipe suggests reheating in the microwave for 7-10 seconds, but ours never got cold enough to warrant that.

Requested by William O. Christmas 2011

Chicken Pot Pie

Make beer can chicken a few nights before. Bake the potato while you're at it. Then make chicken stock. Then make pot pie.

2 pie crusts
2-3 cups of chicken stock (vegetable for vegetarian)
1 potato, baked
1 small sweet potato, baked
2 large carrots
several sprigs of celery
1/2 onion
1/2 can of corn
1/2 14 oz can of artichoke hearts
other veggies of your choosing: mushrooms, tomatoes, asparagus, etc.
herbs
salt and pepper
shredded chicken (optional)
1 egg white

Chop up everything but the pie crusts into bite-size pieces, and place in crock-pot with chicken stock. Cook on low for about 12 hours. In a cup, mix some of the hot stock with flour or cornstarch to thicken. I wasn't happy with the thickening from just flour, and did a second round with corn starch, which was perfect. Turn the slow cooker to high for 30 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Prep the pie crust and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Fill the pie crust with the filling, and cover with the top crust. Brush with egg, and bake until golden brown.

Makes 1 pie, plus a little filling leftover. Good with biscuits the next day.

Pear Pie

2 Trader Joe's pie crusts, or pie crusts of your own making
5-6 pears
1/2 cup turbinado raw sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4-1/2 t cinnamon
1/8 t cloves
1-2 T sweet wine (Riesling)

Prepare the pie crust. Preheat the oven to 350.

Cube the pears and mix with the dry ingredients. Pour the wine into the pie crust and add the pear mixture on top. Arrange the top crust however you like. Mine was supposed to be a lattice, but the crust was too defrosted, so it ended up being more of a modern cubist arrangement.

Bake until golden brown (well over an hour). Allow to cool at least to the point where it won't scorch your mouth. Eat with whipped cream and Mrs. Robinson's butterscotch caramel. Die.

Pumpkin Pie

• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ t salt
• 1 t cinnamon
• ½ t ginger
• ¼ t cloves
• 2 eggs
• 1-15 oz. can pumpkin
• 1-12 oz. can evaporated milk
• 1 unbaked pie crust

Heat oven to 425. Mix dry ingredients, beat eggs in, add pumpkin and gradually add milk. Pour into crust. Bake at 425 for 15 mins, reduce temperature to 350 and bake for 40-50 minutes until knife or toothpick comes out clean. Cool slowly to prevent cracking. For fun, use the leftover pie crust to make leaves to set on the rim of the pie. Use a knife to cut the outline of leaves, and then score one line longways, and small lines at an angle to the long line to depict the veins. (Or purchase some leaf cookie cutters.) Placing the leaves on the pie filling causes it to bake unevenly.

Walnut Pie

• 1 unbaked pastry crust, 9 inch
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 T flour
• 1 t salt
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup evaporated milk
• 1 ½ cup walnuts or pecans
• 1 t vanilla

Heat oven to 375. Mix sugar, flour and salt in a 1 ½ quart bowl. Stir in corn syrup. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in milk, walnuts, and vanilla. Pour into crust. Bake 45 minutes or until firm. Chocolate chips may be added.