This year my parental Grandfather turned 80! I think it is as hard for him to believe as it is for me. He pretty much seems the same as he did 20 years ago. When you are little everyone seems old and as you age, you realize that 50, 60, and 80 are not so very far away. I am so thankful for his Godly example of trusting God and being joyful in the Lord. My grandparents do not entrust their joy or contentment to their circumstances, but they entrust their hearts and lives to God. They have lost their son, their siblings and had many trying situations in their lives, but yet as Job they are unwavering in their praise of God.

For Poppys birthday, I wanted to make a yummy baked good and decided to make a pie with some of the blueberries we picked last week. The blueberry filling turned out rather runny and I still need to work on a better recipe, but today I will share with you my tried and true Gluten Free Pie Crust that I have been making for years. This recipe makes 2 crusts.

These are the ingredients we will be using:

3 cups GF flour (my favorites are Bobs Red Mill 1 to 1 mixture or King Arthur All Purpose Flour)

1 t. salt

2/3 C. shortening

1/3 c. slightly soft but still firm butter

1 egg

3/4 c. cold water

Supplies:

8″ or 9″ pie plate

parchment paper

adult-size dinner fork

rolling pin

mixing bowl

measuring cups/spoon

Method (directions)

First, measure out the flour and salt and mix together in a medium size mixing bowl. I use a fork for mixing.

Next, add the shortening and butter.

Mix and press with a fork until crumbly. It should look something like this. Its okay if there are still some small chunks.

Its time to add the liquid! Scramble the egg in a glass measuring cup and fill with VERY COLD water up to the 1 cup line. Most eggs are equal to 1/4 c. and so you should be adding about 3/4 c. water.

Add liquid to the butter/flour mixture and mix gently and quickly until water is absorbed and just until the ingredients are cohesive. It should be the perfect amount of liquid, but if it dries out too fast, add a tiny bit of water as needed. You really want to handle the dough as little as possible with your hands, so continue to use a fork for the mixing.

With floured hands, gently form the dough into two disks. The dough is now ready to be used in your single or double pie crust recipe!

I rolled out mine one at a time for my blueberry pie.

I like to lightly flour a large piece of parchment to roll mine out on. It can help to gently shape the edges of the dough into a circle as you roll it out. Try to handle the dough as little as possible. Keeping the dough cool will prevent the butter in the dough from melting before baking. This does two things: keeps the dough firm and stable, AND keeps it flaky and tender when cooked.

I usually roll out the dough to be at least an inch past the edges of my pie dish. I tried to show that in the picture below. It’s not perfect, but you get the idea. You need enough dough so that the inside edges of the pie are covered, plus extra for the crust.

Fill with you favorite filling! This was only part of the blueberries I put in. I also cooked some with honey to fill the crust.

Here I am crimping the edges. The lattice tops didn’t turn out very well because the filling was still hot. The dough was melting as soon as it got near the filling and so I couldn’t lay it properly. Oh well, lesson learned. I am still working on a good blueberry recipe, and so I’ll try it again next time!

I sprinkled the top of the crust with cane sugar before baking. I BAKED my pie at 350* for about an hour.

It turned out beautifully! Golden brown, flaky and delicious.

Everyone loved the pie and no one could tell that it was gluten free! I hope that you give this a try and that you enjoy it as much as we did. Happy baking!

NOTES:

I use a combination of butter and shortening intentionally as it gives, in my opinion, the best of both flavor and texture.

My shortening trick: line the inside of your dry measuring cup with plastic wrap. Fill with shortening, dump out into your recipe, and throw the wrap away! Easy peasy!

The egg helps hold the dough together and gives body.

I have NOT had good success preparing the dough ahead and of time and keeping it in the fridge. It broke apart too easily. I have not tried freezing this recipe.

This dough does not brown as much as a regular GLUTEN pie crust would. Be careful not to over bake or it will be dry.

As I said before, KEEP DOUGH COOL and manhandle as little as possible for a flaky crust!