Gluten-Free Pastry Dough

Among the many things I’m thankful for is the Sweet Utopia vegan desserts cookbook. I’ve had this book for a while and everything I make from it turns out delicious. It’s a great dessert book for anyone to keep on hand.

When I saw a recipe for “praline bars” in the book, I had to give them a try for Thanksgiving. It’s a maple, walnut and pecan streusel on top of a rich pastry dough. Doesn’t that sound good? However, I’ve baked enough to know that the vegan pastry dough in the book wasn’t going to translate well gluten-free, so I made some changes to come up with the perfect gluten-free pastry dough. It’s rich and flaky and everything pastry should be; you would never know it’s gluten-free

Gluten-Free Pastry Dough

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour(such as Bob’s Red Mill’s)
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup cream cheese, cold
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons cane sugar
• 1 egg

Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, cream cheese, salt, sugar, and egg. Slowly sift in the gluten-free flour and mix on low until it’s barely all absorbed. It’s OK if there are chunks of fat still visible in the dough.

Stick the dough in the refrigerator and let it sit for 1-2 hours. When you’re ready to use, pull it out of the refrigerator and work it as little as possible pressing it into whatever mold.

Always grease the baking vessel and bake your crust through before adding the filling in an oven usually set at 350 degrees. You’ll know it’s cooked as the edges begin to brown.

I can’t give the recipe for the filling because it’s not mine. But you can bet it was tasty. Since the dough isn’t very sweet but rather rich, you can use it for anything from a sweet pie to a savory filled pastry.