The X - Files: Baking with Xanthan Gum (Kringles)

I am ashamed to reflect upon how long More from the Gluten-Free Gourmet sat unopened and unexplored with my other recipe books- there are some fantastic recipes in here! Last weekend, I wanted to experiment with pie crust because, apparently, I was feeling very ambitious. Usually, I refuse to have anything to do with GF pie crust. It's a pain to roll out and get into the pie plate and then, after all that work, it never tastes good- forget about the texture problems. Fresh from my resounding sconce success, I decided to explore the Gluten-Free Gourmet's pie crust recipes- but which to choose? I settled upon the Ricotta pastry because it sounded interesting and I thought it would go very well with the Lemon Berry Tarte I wanted to make. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the GFG suggested using half the pastry to make a kringle- intriguing. I've been on a quest for a yummy GF pastry for some time now and this recipe is a winner. Flaky (I have to warn you, there is nothing healthy about this recipe), fruity and it has icing!

Ricotta Pastry

• 1 1/2 cups white rice flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour
• 1 teaspoon baking power
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Sift together the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in the butter, ricotta cheese and sour cream. Mix ingredients well with a pastry fork. Chill in the refrigerator at least two hours (longer is better). Roll out the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap. Once you have the desired size, remove the top piece of plastic wrap and use the bottom piece of plastic warp to carefully invert the crust into the pie plate, shape and remove plastic. Bake as directed for recipe. If recipe calls for a baked crust, use a fork to poke holes all over the crust and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

Kringle

• 1/2 dough from ricotta pastry recipe
• 1 can any GF pie filling or jam
• 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons milk

Roll out the pastry between two sheets of plastic wrap into a rectangle about 10 inches by 16 inches. Remove top layer of plastic. Spoon half the pie filling down the center of the dough (jam also works very well- for the kringles pictured, I used lemon curd and raspberry jam. I also made one with cherry pie filling. All delicious.) and use the plastic wrap to fold each side of the pastry over the filling. Flip over and place seam-side down on a greased cookie sheet- this is the tricky part. Slash diagonal slits across the top about every two inches. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 400. While baking, whisk together the confectioner's sugar and milk. Drizzle the resulting icing over the kringles while still hot. Cut into pieces and serve.

Coming soon: the other half of the Ricotta Pastry become a Lemon Berry Tarte!