This is another recipe from Cookie Madness. Anna says it is from a restaurant called Z-Tejas and she found it at Pepperfool through Google. Chocolate and peppers go quite well together. I was looking for a recipe to make for my husband’s birthday and since he loves pies, this seemed perfect. The pie crust recipe is from my other grandmother (minus the gluten-free variation) and seems similar to Bette Hagman’s vinegar pastry, as seen on Ginger Lemon Girl, from The Gluten-Free Gourmet, Revised Edition.

I would imagine you could use ground red cayenne pepper if you couldn’t get anchos or ground ancho powder. It wouldn’t have the same smoky flavour, but it would have the heat. When I tasted the batter before pouring it into the pie shell, I got a small pleasant burn in the back of my throat, not overpowering at all.  Thanks Anna for sharing this recipe.

Pie Crust

85g (3/4 cup) gluten-free flour blend (I used teff flour, sweet rice flour, and arrowroot starch)

85g (3/8 cup, 6 tablespoons) butter or shortening

1 egg (may omit)

1 tablespoon vinegar

30 ml (1/8 cup, 2 tablespoons) cold water

Cut the butter or shortening into the flour until the bits are the size of small peas. Mix in the egg, vinegar, and water until just blended. Form the dough into a ball. Roll out on a floured surface. Makes one 23 cm (9 inch) pie crust.

Z-Tejas’ Chile Fudge Pie

2 teaspoons pureed ancho pepper (Anna suggests using ground ancho powder, if you can get it, if you can’t get the ancho pepper itself)

225g (1 cup) butter

120g (1 cup) mixed nuts (walnuts and pecans) toasted

2 eggs

115g (1/2 cup) caster sugar

100g (1/2 cup) brown sugar

60g (1/2 cup) gluten-free flour blend

175g (1 cup) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips

1 23 cm (9 inch) unbaked pie shell

First, make the ancho puree. Remove stem and seeds from one ancho chile. Put it in a saucepan with about 5 cm (2 inches) of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until ancho is tender. Place in a food processor to puree.

Preheat the oven to 160C (325F). Melt butter and cool to warm-do not let it cool completely. It needs to be warm enough to melt the chocolate chips when you add them.

In a small mixing bowl, beat eggs well. Beat in both sugars, then add flour and stir until smooth. Add warm butter, chocolate chips, chile puree, and nuts.

Pour filling into unbaked pie shell and bake for 40 to 60 minutes or until done. Mine took 80 minutes. I may have overbaked mine by 10 minutes or so though. Let cool completely. Enjoy!

This is another recipe from Cookie Madness. Anna made hers with blackberries, but I used frozen peaches and dried cranberries. I used butter in my pie crust, but if you replaced the butter in the crust and filling, then you could make this casein free and vegan. Pies, especially the crust, tend to work well with butter replacements such as shortening anyhow.

The pie crust recipe is from one of my grandmothers (minus the gluten-free variation of course). I don’t know where she found it, but the original had shortening. This pie is different but delicious. It reminds me more of breakfast than dessert. It would be good with different fruits as well.  Thanks Anna for sharing a very interesting recipe.

Pie Crust

85g (3/4 cup) gluten-free flour blend (I used cornflour (corn starch), teff flour, and sweet rice flour)

55g (1/4 cup) butter or shortening

60 ml (1/4 cup) cold or ice water

Cut the butter into the flour until the bits are the size of small peas. Add water until the mixture comes together to form a ball. Roll out on a floured surface. Makes one 23 cm (9 inch) pie crust.

Cranberry-Peach Oatmeal Pie

1 23 cm (9 inch) pie crust

283g (10 oz) peaches, thinly sliced

120g (1 cup) dried cranberries

135g (2/3 cup) light brown sugar, divided use

45g (3 tablespoons) butter or shortening, softened

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

125 ml (1/2 cup) light corn syrup (I used Lyle’s golden syrup)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 large eggs (I used 13g (2 tablespoons) ground flax seed and 90 ml (6 tablespoons) water

65g (2/3 cup) gluten-free oats

40g (1/3 cup) chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 175C (350F).

Toss peaches with half the brown sugar. Pour the dried cranberries into the pie crust and spread evenly. Top with the sweetened peaches and spread evenly.

In a bowl beat together the butter and the other half of the brown sugar until creamy. Add the vanilla extract, cinnamon, and syrup. Add the ground flax and water, or eggs one by one, and the oatmeal. Pour over fruit. Sprinkle with pecans.

Place pie on a baking tray and bake for 50 minutes. Serve warm or let cool. Enjoy!

Casein-Free Option:

Use trans-fat free shortening in the pie crust instead of butter. You could use lard as well, if you are not vegan. For the pie filling, substitute trans-fat shortening, ghee, applesauce, or prune puree for the butter.