Nutty Crust Peach Pie (Gluten Free)

Summer fruit rocks. Not too long ago I brought home 4 pounds of delicious peaches from the Farmers Market, and I decided to make a pie with them using the same gluten-free pie crust recipe that I usually put blueberries in. It's from the Whole Foods website: All Nut Crumb Crust. Only this time I used half almonds and half pecans because I was running low on almonds. It tasted awesome, with the pecans complementing the peaches nicely, even though I totally burned the edges.

I tried to make the filling recipe as healthy as possible by subbing maple syrup for the sugar and reducing the amount. I probably could have omitted the sweetener altogether. Seriously, these peaches were more than sweet enough. I also reduced the amount of corn starch, but that maybe wasn't such a great idea. These peaches were really juicy, and the filling liquid didn't thicken much. I actually had to strain some of it off, but that worked out fine as I then used it to flavor my plain yogurt.

Filling:
4 pounds peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced (Do yourself a favor and blanche them for 20 seconds first. It makes them SO much easier to peel!)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 TBSP cornstarch (original recipe called for 3 TBSP, but 2 might do the trick)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

All you do is toss the sliced peaches with the rest of the ingredients and stir gently over medium heat until the peaches are cooked and the liquid thickened. Mine didn't really thicken much, but that's what I get for skimping on the cornstarch.

  

I let the filling cool before pouring it in the prebaked pie shell. Alternatively, you could combine the peaches and other ingredients and, instead of cooking on the stove, put the filling in an unbaked pie shell and bake everything at the same time in the oven. But, I was worried about this nut crust going all soggy, which it did after a day or so of assembly, so this isn't one to make ahead of time.

 

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Summer Fruits

I love the fresh produce this time of year. Last weekend we went blueberry picking, which is one of my favorite summer time activities, and then afterwards we called in at the Farmers Market. In addition to the six pounds of blueberries we picked, we also came home with a CSA box from Delvin Farms and four pounds of peaches.

  

At the moment there's both a baked oatmeal and a blueberry pie in the refrigerator, but I doubt they'll last long. Now I need to figure out something to do with these peaches. I've already made raw peach cobbler once, so I'd like to expand my horizons a bit more. I welcome any suggestions, as long as they're gluten-free or can be easily made without any ingredients containing gluten.

In the CSA box were some jalapeno peppers, which was lucky because I was wanting to try this recipe for Crispy Jalapeno-Lime Chicken. I only had boneless, skinless chicken breasts on hand, so I used those instead of chicken thighs, but it was still yummy. This dish is a bit spicy, but the lime juice does a great job of taking the edge off. I also made soup with all the yellow squash, and we ate the last of the corn for dinner last night. We still have a plenty of tomatoes left, as I'm really the only one in the house who eats them, and there were a lot in there, as well as a few cucumbers, a zucchini, and some bell peppers. I gave away the two cantaloupes because I'm not really a fan of them. I love honeydew and watermelon, but not cantaloupes for some reason.

Unfortunately, I don't have photos of any of this so you'll just have to take my word for it. But I do have some exciting news to share! I hope you haven't forgotten about Gluten Free Week over at The Sugar Turntable, because today my Banana Ganache Tart with Peanut Butter Cookie Crust is featured as a guest post. Even though you may have already seen that recipe, it's still a good excuse to check out what else has already posted this week. I quite like the look of the Coconut Cake with Key Lime Frosting from yesterday. It's already on my "must try" list.

My Five for 2010

Here's a list of my top 5 favorite recipes I've posted this year. I really wanted to do a top 10 of 2010, but I didn't feel that was being selective enough since I lagged most of the year and only shared 23 recipes. These are favorites because they're gluten-free, delicious, and easy to make or worth the effort. If they're somewhat healthier that also counts to their advantage.

Narrowing it down to 10 was no problem, and picking out my top 4 was easy enough, but I really struggled with number 5. I couldn't decide between Chocolate Torte Dressed in Berries, Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies, or Gluten-Free Shortbread. I finally settled on the peanut butter cookies, since they're so easy to make and can be considered somewhat healthy. Also, the dough can double as a pie crust.

I really liked the Mini Lemon Tarts I made last week, even if nobody else did. They are a bit time consuming to make if you use a mini muffin pan, but that just means they're more of a special occasion type treat as opposed to a snack to keep on hand. I think they'll get better as I make them more and figure out why my filling didn't set up. I'm putting them in at number 4 since I thought they were yummy, and I see potential for playing around with different fillings.

Number 3 would have to be the Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Tarts. Again, these require a bit of time and effort, but they are so delicious.

The blueberry pie I made (several times) is my second favorite. I love the almond crust, and just thinking about the filling is making my mouth water. I'm looking forward to next summer now.

My top favorite recipe for 2010 is the Fresh Peach Cobbler. By far. This was a recipe I just kept making while there was an endless supply of Farmers Market peaches.

My top 5 favorite recipes for this year:

1. Fresh Peach Cobbler

 

2. Blueberry Pie

 

3. Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Tarts

4. Mini Lemon Tarts 

5. Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Fresh Peach Cobbler (raw)

A few months ago a friend of mine shared a raw cobbler recipe with me. It originally called for mango, but they were out of season and too expensive. Or perhaps at the time I just couldn't be bothered to peel and dice them or something. So, I used strawberries because they were on hand, and since my kids love them, I thought it would be a treat the whole family could enjoy. Well, it wasn't. Once strawberries are washed and sliced, they just don't stay fresh for very long. Since this is a raw recipe, those berries were looking pretty pathetic after only a few hours in the refrigerator, and while it tasted fine, it wasn't all that great or pretty to look at.

More recently, I found some mangoes on sale, so I bought them and followed the recipe to the letter (almost). I've come to the conclusion that while I love the flavor of mangoes, I hate the texture of their stringy, slippery, pulp. Plus they're a pain to prep, and I didn't particularly like them in this recipe.

Last weekend, I scored some awesome peaches at the Farmers Market. BINGO! I may have to get some more peaches this weekend and make this recipe again because what I made yesterday will be gone by in the morning.

So, here is the recipe for Fresh Mango Cobbler, only made with peaches instead because that's the way I like it. I'm really sorry I don't have good pictures for this one. The photo below really does not do it justice.

Fresh Peach Cobbler (Raw)

Crust:
3 cups dry pecans
1 TBSP alcohol-free vanilla extract
3/4 tsp. sea salt
3/4 cup pitted dates

Syrup:
3/4 cup pitted dates
3 TBSP coconut oil
1/2 TBSP alcohol-free vanilla extract
2/3 cup water, as needed

Filling:
6 cups fresh peach slices (the actual number of peaches needed will vary depending on variety and size)
juice of one lemon (freshly squeezed, of course)

Peel, pit, and slice peaches. Place them in a large bowl and add the lemon juice. Refrigerate while making the crust and syrup.

Process pecans and salt into a powder in food processor. Add vanilla extract and 3/4 cup dates and continue processing until mixed well. Spread half of this crust mixture into the bottom of a pie dish and set aside, reserving the other half in a small bowl for topping.

Process the other 3/4 cup dates with oil, vanilla, and water as needed to make a thick syrup. Pour onto peaches and gently stir to combine. Spoon filling into pie dish and top with the rest of the crust mixture.

Cover and keep refrigerated.

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