Brittney Lee of Razorback Britt
A couple of years ago, my mom went gluten free. She isn’t allergic to gluten, but she found that gluten aggravated some of her pre-existing medical conditions, so she cut it out. Gluten is typically found in most baked goods, as flour contains gluten. While there are gluten free flours, they behave differently when cooking. So for the first year or so, we had difficulty replacing some of mom’s favorite foods with gluten free alternatives. We struggled to adjust to the gluten free lifestyle, especially when it came to holiday cooking.
Thankfully, over the years we have discovered some delicious gluten free dishes to add to our holiday table. We have found a cornbread mix that makes great cornbread stuffing. And our local health food carries a wonderful gluten free baguette that pairs wonderfully with our cranberry cheese dip. And we’ve adjusted our chicken and wild rice casserole recipe to be gluten free. But one dish was the thorn in my holiday baking side: pie.
My mom loves pecan pie, and we hadn’t found a gluten free pie crust either ready-made or homemade that was perfect for pecan pie. Either the crust turned out too fluffy like a puffed pastry, or it was more of a graham cracker crust. Nothing seemed right for the pecan pie. I wanted so badly to recreate the pecan pie flavor for mom.
I ditched the pie idea and went for something that hit the right flavor notes instead. These gluten free pecan pie bites hit the spot! They are sweet, have the traditional flavors of pecan pie, and are actually pretty healthy! You won’t feel guilty indulging in them all holiday season long!
In my recipe, I used corn syrup to bump up the traditional pecan pie taste. Every pecan pie I’ve ever made used corn syrup, so that’s what I used here. If you want an alternative, you could try another liquid sweetener like maple syrup, molasses, or honey. The point here is for the liquid to be a sweetener and binder. The mixture needs to be sticky enough to hold together in a ball.
Even if you aren’t gluten free, these are an easy treat to make that your family and friends will love. They make great snacks or party food! For a twist, you could drizzle them with chocolate to mimic the flavors in a chocolate pecan pie. They are beautiful stacked in a bowl or spread them out on a platter with fun party picks. Or eat them right off the pan. That’s what I do!
The Cafe 1217 Cookbook from Cafe 1217 in Hot Springs. I cook the gingerbread muffins several times a year.
Queso with chorizo. As if queso isn’t indulgent enough, let’s add some sausage and dip it with fried tortillas.
What is your most used cookbook?
What is your favorite kitchen gadget?
What is your favorite food meal to cook at home?
What else would you like us to know about you?
Enter poached fruit, specifically poached pears. In just a few minutes you can enjoy a beautiful and flavorful fruit dessert and not feel even the slightest bit of guilt. How crazy is that? It is a well-kept secret, and one that I think we should be willing to share over and over and over again. These ginger poached pears take some of the warmest and most comforting holiday flavors and combine them all into a gorgeous dessert you will be proud to share.
Getting to Know Your ARWB Foodies
Chris H. Olsen