Cream Cheese Crepes

Dairy and eggs are two things that are not often a part of my diet. I’m gluten-intolerant and have a slight sensitivity to both dairy and eggs. This is why most of my recipes use unsweetened almond milk and I generally only eat cheese sparingly and only eat eggs when they are cooked inside baked goods. However, during pregnancy, I’ve noticed that I’m not as sensitive to dairy and can get away with eating more cheese and ice cream than I could before. I’m trying to enjoy it while it lasts (wondering if it will go back after pregnancy?) and since the growing baby needs calcium for bone formation and I need to be getting in more protein, why not indulge a little more? I particularly love cream cheese and have been enjoying it as a snack throughout pregnancy. (Interestingly, most of my pregnancy cravings have been for foods from my childhood, cream cheese as one of those! I ate a lot of cream cheese as a kid — with celery, pretzels, crackers, etc. Other cravings have included potatoes (every kind really, but particularly mashed, as I ate those constantly as a kid at my Mamaw’s house!), oranges/orange juice, lemon/lemonade, breakfast cereal, and sweets!)

One day midway through my pregnancy, I was at Tulane’s Newcomb Art Museum for a Friday Collections tour of their Newcomb Pottery. I had walked there from my house (it isn’t far) and had been standing for the tour (about an hour). As it was ending, my vision went completely white and I felt dizzy and thought I might pass out. I didn’t know anyone else on the tour and didn’t want to pass out in the Newcomb private collections room (!!), so I felt my way along the wall and out the doors and sat down in the hallway for a few minutes until the feeling passed. I drank lots of water afterwards and called my midwife to let her know. I believe it was just a low blood pressure episode from standing so long with limited blood circulation during pregnancy (it gets harder for your body to pump blood back up to your heart/etc from your legs). My midwife recommended in the future I try not to stand for such long periods, change my position when I am standing, drink lots of water, and try and get more protein in at breakfast to help give me energy for longer and to keep my blood sugar at a good level as well. I also tested slightly anemic during pregnancy, so I’ve had to take iron supplements and try to get as much protein in as possible. On the weekends I occasionally have bacon or sausage with breakfast, but on a regular basis, I find it a little harder to get meat in first thing in the morning. So I was thrilled when I came across this recipe for protein pancakes that included cream cheese and eggs — both good sources of protein other than meat!

Not only do these Cream Cheese Crepes contain good protein, they are great served sprinkled with lemon juice and topped with strawberries — both high in vitamin c, which your body needs to absorb the iron in protein-rich foods. I’ve been calling these my pregnancy pancakes — as they check off many boxes: extra calcium for baby from the cream cheese, extra protein for breakfast with the cheese and eggs and added nuts, vitamin c for iron absorption with the lemon/strawberry (plus I usually drink a little orange juice with them as well) — all good for getting in good nutrients for baby and keeping me from being anemic! I’ve been eating them so often lately, and not that they are the reason, but I haven’t had any more dizzy, low blood pressure episodes! They are delicious and also super simple and quick and easy to make!

Cream Cheese Crepes
makes 1-2 servings or about 10 thin pan-crepes, but I eat them all myself!

Ingredients:
-1/2 block cream cheese (4 oz)
-4 eggs
-butter, for greasing griddle
-fresh lemon juice, fruit, powdered sugar, nuts, etc for serving

Directions:
1. In blender, blend together cream cheese and eggs. (I use my smoothie maker/blender and it is perfect for this!)
2. Let batter sit for a few minutes (reduces bubbles) while griddle heats up (~350 degrees).
3. Lightly grease non-stick electric griddle with butter and pour batter in about 3 Tbsp-fuls onto hot griddle. Batter is thin, so it will spread (remember these are more like crepes than pancakes!).
4. Cook until edges are dry and bubbles form on top, then flip and cook on other side. (These cook pretty quickly!)
5. Serve with fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar, fruit, nuts, etc.

Enjoy!

P.S. I’ve said it many times before, but I strongly recommend using a non-stick electric griddle for these! I’ve found with crepes, pancakes, arepas, tortillas, etc. it just works so much better than cooking on the stove! More even heat and more room for flipping! I use mine all the time!

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Practically Paleo Pancakes

I love nothing more on weekend mornings/afternoons than waking up slow and having a nice home-cooked breakfast together. More often than not, this ends up being bacon, eggs (for Drew), and pancakes (mostly for me). However, I expect a lot from my pancakes, I don’t want to simply be eating flour and sugar for breakfast. Since I’m gluten-intolerant and eat a mostly paleo diet, this means healthier pancakes are the only ones that stick in this household. I have several ones I like (see Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes and Maple Pecan Pancakes) but I’m particularly excited about these as they resemble a regular fluffy pancake more than the others (Drew approves!). I hope you enjoy!

Practically Paleo Pancakes
makes about 10 pancakes

Ingredients:
-1 cup almond flour
-1/3 cup white corn meal *(or another 1/3 cup almond flour)
-1/4 cup arrowroot flour (could probably also sub for tapioca flour or cornstarch but I haven’t tried this)
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-1/4 tsp salt
-1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
-3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
-(optional) lemon zest (for extra lemon flavor)
-3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
-1 tsp vanilla
-3 eggs
-1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
-additional coconut oil, for greasing griddle
-fresh fruit, nuts, whipped cream, maple syrup, etc for serving

*Omit corn meal and sub with additional almond flour to make completely paleo. I add corn meal because I like the slight extra crunch/crisp it gives the pancakes and it reminds me of the cornmeal pancakes my grandmother used to make.

Directions:
1. Mix together dry ingredients (almond flour, corn meal, arrowroot flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt).
2. In separate bowl, mix together wet ingredients (almond milk, lemon juice, maple syrup, vanilla, eggs, coconut oil).
3. Combine wet and dry ingredients and stir until smooth (batter will thicken as you mix together).
4. Heat griddle (I heat mine to ~350 degrees) and grease lightly with coconut oil.
5. Pour 1/4-1/3 cupfuls of pancake batter onto hot greased griddle, allowing to cook until edges are dry and tops of pancakes are bubbly before flipping over and cooking on the other side. (If you want to add blueberries, bananas, nuts, etc to the pancakes themselves you can add on top of the batter once poured onto the griddle.)
6. Serve with fruit, nuts, etc and enjoy!

P.S. I strongly recommend cooking these on an electric non-stick griddle. I use mine all the time for pancakes, arepas, tortillas, etc — it’s one of the hardest working appliances in our house and something I consider a necessity for successful pancake cooking/flipping!

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Pumpkin Bread (Gluten-Free)


I remember making pumpkin bread in class one day in elementary school and my mom making it several times at home. I’ve always enjoyed it, although I’d kind-of forgotten about it for many years. I recently was craving it and put together this recipe. I love that it is sweet, but not too sweet — perfect with raspberries or strawberries, chopped nuts, even a garnish of powdered sugar. Would be perfect enjoyed with coffee or tea for a relaxing morning! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread
makes one 9x5in loaf

Ingredients:
-2 eggs
-1/2 cup sugar
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1 tsp vanilla
-1 can pumpkin (puree, not pie filling)
-1 1/2 cups flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill cup for cup gluten-free)
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 tsp ground ginger
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp nutmeg
-1/2 tsp allspice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x5in loaf pan with parchment paper.
2. Mix together wet ingredients (eggs, sugars, vanilla, pumpkin).
3. Separately, mix together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, nutmeg, allspice).
4. Mix dry ingredients into wet until combined.
5. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for ~70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

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Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes

This is a recipe I’ve been meaning to post for a long time and have just never gotten around to it! It probably would be better suited to the fall when people go crazy for anything pumpkin, but I think pumpkin is perfectly suitable to eat year round (although, it gets harder to find!). Pancakes have long been an occasional weekend staple in the Rowland household, but a year or two ago, I decided to try my best to stop eating unnecessary carbs. Since there is literally nothing healthy about a traditional pancake, I stopped eating them. Since I generally stick to as much of a Paleo diet as possible, this is a great occasional weekend breakfast treat! (I usually drink green smoothies for breakfast every day, recipe here.)

Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes
makes 10-12 pancakes

Ingredients:
-1 (15oz) can pumpkin
-6 eggs
-2 tsp vanilla
-4 Tbsp pure maple syrup
-1 cup almond flour
-2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or alternatively, 1 tsp nutmeg & 1 tsp allspice)
-2 tsp cinnamon
-1 tsp baking soda
-coconut oil, for cooking
-pure maple syrup, for serving
-optional extras for serving: Kerrygold butter, chopped pecans

Directions:
1. In mixing bowl, mix together pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, and maple syrup.
2. Add almond flour and combine.
3. Add spices and baking soda and stir to combine.
4. Melt coconut oil on an iron skillet or electric griddle.
5. Scoop out in 1/3 cupfuls onto griddle, spreading out slightly.
6. Cook on both sides until done (this will vary on temperature of your pan, I cook on a 350 degree griddle for a couple minutes per side).
7. Serve warm with butter, maple syrup, and pecans. A side of bacon and a cup of orange juice are also lovely additions!

Enjoy!

P.S. This does make a lot of pancakes! I’ve made many half batches before, but I hate that a half batch only uses 1/2 a can of pumpkin, and I never end up using the other half for anything. So I’ve started making full batches and then reheating leftovers for additional breakfasts. If you’d rather make a half batch (5-6 pancakes) here are those measurements: 1/2 can pumpkin, 3 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 Tbsp maple syrup, 1/2 cup almond flour, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 tsp nutmeg & 1/2 tsp allspice), 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp baking soda.

P.P.S. The original recipe that I started this from doesn’t call for the almond flour and I’ve made these many times without it. They are still great that way, however, they are really delicate and hard to flip without completely falling apart.

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Green Smoothies

Recently, I’ve been trying to eat more Paleo (basically eat more veggies and less carbs). That wasn’t difficult to incorporate into my lunch and dinner plans, but breakfast really stumped me. My usual breakfast was cereal (usually Honey Nut Cheerios) with almond milk or oatmeal. Both are a very carb/sugar rich way to start my day that I wasn’t super happy with. My diet is further limited that I can’t eat wheat, eggs, or much dairy (I’m gluten-intolerant and eggs and dairy also agitate my digestive system). I tried a few other Paleo breakfasts – including a potato/sweet potato/onion/bacon hash and pumpkin/banana pancakes. Both were great, but time consuming to make — so not sustainable for regular workday breakfasts.

At the perfect timing for my life, one of the blogs I read posted about incorporating green smoothies into her diet. I’d obviously heard of green smoothies before, but I don’t know why it hadn’t occurred to me before to try them for my breakfasts. My sister Kelsey makes a similar smoothie for her breakfast occasionally. But it started the wheels in motion and I’ve been green smoothie-ing for breakfast for a couple weeks now and LOVING it!

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Part of the reason I hadn’t tried this sooner is that we didn’t have a blender (Drew broke ours trying to blend a spoon in it while making daiquiris for a party he threw a few years ago when I was out of town, lol!). I tried to blend my first smoothie in our food processor and that turned out terribly! I did a little research on small blenders perfect for smoothies and narrowed it down to these two: NutriBullet ($79.99) & Bella Rocket Blender ($24.99). The NutriBullet is a little more expensive and probably better for the long run, but since I wasn’t even sure I was going to like smoothies, I went with the cheaper, but still well-reviewed Bella Rocket Blender. So far, I’m perfectly happy with my choice! At just under $25, it has been working great (and I’ve been using it daily for the last few weeks). It is super easy to clean, comes with multiple cups, and even includes an extra grinding blade for grinding small seeds and such. I like that it is small enough to leave out for daily use and the design is simple and looks nice.

P.S. Feel free to use your regular blender if you have one! No need to buy a specific smoothie blender for this! I will say though, that the super easy to clean design of this is what has made me actually stick to it. If I had to take a blender apart every day to clean it, I wouldn’t do it (Drew washes the dishes in this house!).

There are a million ways that you can make green smoothies, but this is the recipe that I’ve found perfect for my daily use:

Banana Spinach Green Smoothie
makes one 16 oz smoothie

Ingredients: (feel free to modify as you wish!)
-1 1/4 cup fresh spinach
-1 cup unsweetened cashew or almond milk
-1 tsp honey
-2 tsp ground flax, chia, and hemp seeds
-1 Tbsp almond butter
-1/2 banana, frozen into small chunks
-2 strawberries

Other ingredient ideas:
-raspberries, blueberries, peaches, pineapple, pear, apples (fresh or frozen)
-coconut milk
-nuts or other nut butters
-cinnamon
-dates
-avocado
-vanilla
-cocoa powder
-oats
-coconut

Directions:
1. Place spinach, cashew/almond milk, honey, almond butter, and seeds (I usually pre-grind mine) into blender cup and blend until well blended. (I’ve read that mixing the spinach and liquid together first before adding other fruits helps to get a smoother blend and avoid small bits of spinach in your smoothie).
2. Add banana and other fruit or mix-ins as desired. Blend until well blended.
3. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts:
258 Calories, 30g Carbs, 8g Protein, 13g Fat, 0mg Cholesterol, 190mg Sodium, 288mg Potassium, 5g Fiber, 11g Sugar

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I honestly can’t believe what a difference this has made so far in my routine. It is still quick and easy to make and drink (the small smoothie blender makes it so quick and easy!). It doesn’t take any longer than making and eating a bowl of cereal! But I feel SO MUCH BETTER! I’ve noticed that I have so much more energy lately and this is just such a refreshing way to start my day. I like feeling like I’m being better and healthier to my body. I’ve even started to crave and look forward to my morning smoothie — so much so that I’ve even had another for an afternoon snack some days! I’ve been drinking a bag of spinach a week!

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Blueberry Lemon Walnut Muffins

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Homemade muffins were a weekend breakfast staple in my house growing up. We would go pick our own fresh blueberries practically just to have for muffins. My mom would freeze them in big bags so we would have them for muffin making year round. We also made banana muffins, peach muffins, and strawberry muffins, but blueberry (with lemon and walnuts!) will always be my fave. Last summer, I went blueberry picking with some friends on the North shore, just outside New Orleans. I have a large bag of those blueberries in my freezer just for muffin making! The recipe we used growing up is great, but after going gluten-free, I found I didn’t like the way the muffins in that recipe came out as much. I also like this GF Blueberry Lemon Ricotta muffin recipe, but when I came across this recipe from Smitten Kitchen I knew it was bound to be great. I tweaked it a little to make it gluten-free, more lemon-y, and to add walnuts, and I’m in love with the result! The first time I made these was over Mardi Gras when Drew’s mom was in town and Susie and I had eaten them all within 24 hours. They must be good, because when I made the next batch, even Drew (who says he doesn’t like blueberry muffins) ate TWO!

Blueberry Lemon Walnut Muffins
makes 12 muffins, adapted from this recipe

Ingredients:
-6 Tbsp butter, softened
-1/2 cup sugar
-1 large egg
-3/4 cup sour cream (UPDATE: I now use unsweetened almond milk for this instead, since I always have it on hand, and it makes the batter less thick and allows the outside to get a touch more crunchy!) 
-zest of one lemon or orange (at least 1 tsp)
-1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
-1 1/2 cups flour (I use GF all-purpose flour)
-1 1/2 tsp baking powder
-1/4 tsp baking soda
-1/8 tsp salt
-1 cup blueberries (use fresh, or ones you’ve frozen from fresh, don’t buy frozen)
-1 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 12-cup muffin tin.
2. In electric stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg, beat, then beat in sour cream, zest, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Mixture should be creamy and slightly fluffy (I use one of the highest settings on my mixer).
3. Stir together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt) in a separate bowl.
4. Turn mixer setting down to just a stir and slowly mix in dry ingredients (in about 1/4 cup-fuls) just until combined.
5. Gently fold in blueberries and walnuts.
6. Batter will be thick (almost like a cookie dough). (UPDATE: not if you use almond milk instead of sour cream, it should be like a normal muffin batter!) Scoop into prepared muffin tin cups.
7. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown and when a tester comes out clean.
8. Remove from muffin tin to a wire rack to cool.
9. Serve warm with a pat full of melting salted butter.

Enjoy!

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Everything Cookies

In high school, I used to make these everything-but-the-kitchen-sink cookies all the time. My original recipe makes quite a lot (I’ve downsized it here), so I would make them and my sisters, Drew, whoever was at my parent’s house or Drew’s parents house, would eat them all up. The cooler temps the last few days have me all nostalgic. Fall always reminds me of when Drew and I first started dating (8 years ago this month!), and in turn reminds me of home and high school. I was flipping through my old handwritten cookbook the other day and came across these again. This very well may be the first time I’ve made these since high school! Definitely the first time I’ve made them since I’ve been gluten-free. This is an easy recipe to make GF since it takes so little flour to begin with!

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Everything-but-the-Kitchen-Sink Cookies
makes about 20 cookies

Ingredients:
-1 stick salted butter (1/2 cup)
-1/2 cup sugar
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1 egg
-1/2 tsp vanilla
-1 cup flour (I use my GF all purpose flour + a little bit of xanthan gum)
-1 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
-1/4 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-6 oz chocolate chips (I use half milk chocolate, half semi-sweet)
-3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
-3/4 cup shredded coconut

Directions:
1. In a stand mixer (or large bowl) cream together butter, sugar, and brown sugar.
2. Beat in egg, then vanilla.
3. In separate bowl, mix together flour, oats, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
4. Slowly mix dry ingredients into wet.
5. Fold in chocolate chips, nuts, and coconut.
6. Roll or scoop dough into balls and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake at 375 degrees for around 12 minutes, or until set and lightly browned. Don’t overbake.
8. Let cool on cookie sheet for a couple minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

P.S. My original recipe (if you want double what’s above): 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 cups flour, 2 1/2 cups oats, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 12 oz chocolate chips, 1 1/2 cups chopped nuts, 1 1/2 cups coconut.

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Cornbread Muffins

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Growing up, cornbread was a daily staple at my grandparent’s house. We had it often enough at our house too, only usually in muffin form. My grandparents made drier, unsweet cornbread (that my Papaw often experimented with and threw in whole kernels of corn or jalapenos) and my Mom always made hers sweet (and a little more cake-like) with Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix. After going gluten-free, I thought cornbread would be a quick and easy replacement for bread with meals. However, Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix is not gluten free. I’ve made many different GF cornbreads, all good, but none the same as that muffin mix. That is, until I came across this recipe by Smitten Kitchen. These are seriously the best, homemade cornbread muffins — gluten-free or not.

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Homemade Cornbread Muffins (gluten-free)

makes 12 muffins, recipe from Smitten Kitchen, originally from Cook’s Illustrated

Ingredients:
-2 cups yellow cornmeal (divided)
-1 cup flour (I use my gluten-free all purpose flour + 1 tsp or so of xanthan gum)
-1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
-1 1/4 cups whole milk (I use unsweetened almond milk)
-1 cup sour cream
-8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
-3 to 5 Tablespoons sugar (depending on how sweet you like your cornbread)
-2 large eggs

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 425°F (220°C). Grease 12-cup standard muffin tin.
2. Mix 1 1/2 cups cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine milk and remaining 1/2 cup cornmeal. Cook cornmeal/milk mixture over medium high heat for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until it’s thickened to a batter-like consistency.
4. Stir melted butter, sugar, and sour cream into cooked cornmeal. When mixture is cool enough to not cook the eggs, whisk in eggs and stir until combined.
5. Fold in flour mixture until thoroughly combined (batter will be thick).
6. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups (will mound slightly above the rim).
7. Bake until tops are golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 13 to 17 minutes, rotating muffin tin halfway through baking to ensure even cooking.
8. Let muffins cool in muffin tin on wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove muffins and let cool 5 minutes longer. Serve warm with butter and/or honey.

Enjoy!

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Sawdust Pie

This yummy dessert was my favorite pie growing up, and was one that was often served at Thanksgiving. I hadn’t had it in a few years (since going gluten-free), so I decided to finally make a gluten-free version. It is delicious warm, served with whipped cream and banana slices.

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Sawdust Pie
Serves 8

Ingredients:
-9 inch unbaked pie shell/crust (I use my homemade gluten-free version, here)
-1 1/2 cups sugar
-1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (I use these GF ones from my local grocery store)
-1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
-1 1/2 cups coconut
-7 egg whites, unbeaten

Directions:
1. Prepare pie crust.
2. Mix all dry ingredients together.
3. Stir egg whites into dry ingredients.
4. Pour mixture into unbaked pie shell.
5. Bake in preheated 325 degree oven until glossy and set (about 25-30 minutes). Center should be gooey. Do not overbake.
6. Serve warm with whipped cream and sliced bananas.

Enjoy!

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The Summer of Blackberry Pie

When Drew and I were vacationing in the Pacific Northwest earlier this Summer, Drew had a piece of Marionberry Pie. It wasn’t gluten-free, but I had to try a bite and it was delicious. Once we got back home, I had to make a gluten free pie! We don’t have marionberries (a certain type of blackberry) in Louisiana, but we do have other blackberries and raspberries, so a homemade gluten-free blackberry/raspberry pie it was!

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This was actually the first fruit pie I’d ever made. Growing up, my family never really made/ate fruit pies, so I never had the desire to make one myself. Boy, has that changed. Homemade blackberry pie is now one of my favorite things ever and the perfect summer treat (served with some fresh homemade vanilla ice cream!). I’ve made three pies in the last month (even though it is 100 degrees in New Orleans and about that hot in our house). Not even kidding, about the pies or the heat.

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For the crust, I used my Gluten-Free Shortcrust Recipe that I shared a couple months ago. It works wonderfully as a pie crust!

Gluten-free Blackberry/Raspberry Pie

Ingredients:

For the crust: (make two batches of this if you want both a top and bottom crust)
– 1/2 cup brown rice flour
– 1/2 cup white rice flour
– 1/4 cup cornstarch
– 1 Tbsp turbinado sugar
– 1/8 tsp xanthan gum
– 1/8 tsp sea salt
– 6 Tbsp cold butter, cubed
– 1 small egg
– 2 Tbsp water

For the filling:
– 3 tablespoons butter
– about 24 oz fresh berries (I used a mixture of blackberries and raspberries)
– about 1/2 cup turbinado sugar
– 1 tsp vanilla
– 1 tsp lemon zest
– 1/2 tsp lemon juice
– 1/8 tsp cinnamon
– 1 Tbsp orange juice
– 1 Tbsp corn starch
***Note on the filling: I really just threw these ingredients together and didn’t do a lot of measuring, so feel free to add them in, taste, and add more of whatever else you think it needs. You can also make this with more berries, just up the measurements of the other ingredients a bit.

For serving:
– homemade vanilla ice cream (optional, but delicious!)

Directions for the Crust:

1. In food processor, mix dry ingredients (brown rice flour, white rice flour, cornstarch, sugar, xanthan gum, salt).
2. Add cubed butter and pulse until crumbly.
3. Add egg, mix until combined, then add water and mix until combined.
4. Remove dough from food processor, roll into a ball, and wrap in plastic wrap.
5. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour.
6. When ready to bake, roll out chilled dough between two sheets of wax paper. (You might need to dust the crust with a little brown rice flour while rolling if it is too sticky).
7. Transfer dough to bottom of pie pan.

Directions for the filling:

8. Melt butter in saucepan over medium/high heat.
9. Add berries and stir until they start to soften.
10. Add sugar, vanilla, lemon zest/juice, cinnamon, orange juice, and corn starch.
11. Stir until all dissolved and bubbly. (I also slightly mash up the berries a bit).
12. Taste and alter ingredients if necessary. You might need to add more sugar, depending on the sweetness of your berries (raspberries are usually sweeter and a little less tart than blackberries).

To Bake:

13. Pour fruit filling into prepared pie crust in pie pan.
14. Add second crust (if desired) over the top of filling.
15. Pinch crust edges together and slice a hole or two in the top. You can also spread a little melted butter over the top and sprinkle with sugar, if desired.
16. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Enjoy!

P.S. A side note that I’m adding here so that I don’t forget: When I published this post, my cousin Neva saw it and told me that my great-grandmother, Verba Pearl (my Papaw’s mom — “Grandma Wallace” as they called her), used to make the best Blackberry cobblers and Neva was happy to know that I was continuing that tradition. In Neva’s words, “We would finish eating lunch, and gobbling her cobbler, and LOVING it. So, she would stand up that minute and go to start making another for supper. She kept her flour poured out of the bag into one of her cabinet drawers. She would reach in and just grab out handfuls. She didn’t measure. Her crusts were perfect. I am sure she used lard. She usually made her blackberries into cobblers, with just the top crust. She was a good down-home cook. She cooked (and canned) despite the Southern Illinois summer temperatures.” I mentioned it to my dad and he said that he remembered her out in the middle of the woods in her dress wading through the weeds to pick wild blackberries. I never got to meet my great-grandmother, but I’m so happy to know that little tid-bit about her and to be continuing her tradition! 🙂

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