Semi Home Made Holiday pies

Kendall wrote about this easy short-cut for making pies two holidays ago, but we thought it might come in handy again this season.


I think short cuts in cooking are critical for survival as a working mom. True confessions are in order here, I despise baking. I'd rather have a tooth filled than whip up a batch of cookies, bake a cake or make a pie. Birthdays, and celiac disease, present a major challenge in this area for me.

My daughter asked for an apple pie for her birthday dessert. I had a few options. Making pie dough from scratch--a long process with cold unsalted butter, flour and a Cuisinart was the most unpalatable option. Mixing the dough to perfect "pea sized" consistency and letting it rest is soooo time consuming. Then, to add insult to injury, it still needs to be rolled out!

I thought about using Pillsbury ready made pie crust and just doing two baked apples for the celiacs. This was also not a great option because I really do try to be inclusive of every family member.

But, then I remembered that I had two Whole Foods Gluten Free Bakery pie crusts in the freezer and figured I could use them to make a double-crust pie. The crusts thawed at room temperature and I prepped a bunch of apples with lemon juice, cinnamon, sugar and gluten-free flour.

It worked! I piled the apples into one crust and put the other crust on top. After five minutes in the oven, I stretched the top crust and pinched the top and bottom crusts together.

It was absolutely gorgeous when it came out of the oven. The crust was a light golden brown and the aroma was tantalizing. Everyone eagerly came to the table to celebrate.

Since it was semi-home made, it was a snap. My celiac has put in his request for pumpkin and apple pie for Thanksgiving! I can do that EASILY. Frozen, ready made gluten-free pie crust is now my favorite thing in the freezer case.
Kendall Egan

A gluten-free birthday at college

It's a done deal now. My daughter, Amanda, officially started college classes this morning.


We packed her up last week and headed off to the large, out-of-state university she is attending. The week before she left, I spent most evenings in the kitchen, preparing all the gluten-free food I thought she could fit in her dorm room freezer. I made things that will be impossible to get at school, including gluten-free cookies, bread, and chicken nuggets.

And I snuck in a small, heart shaped cake that I will tell her about tomorrow - her 18th birthday. (I'm not worried she will read about it here, she's too busy with school to read this the first day it's posted!)

Amanda loves birthdays and was a little worried about being away from family and friends. So I spent a lot of time trying how to figure out a way to make it possible for her to have a special celebration so far from home. I was afraid to order a cake from one of the growing number of gluten-free bakeries that ship them because the university mail system is still a mystery to me. An on-campus service delivers cakes to students, but, of course, they are not gluten free. It's nice that the service also delivers balloons and flowers, so you can guess who is taking advantage of that offer! You can usually find ways to mark special days that don't center on food.

I'm hoping the homemade cake and other surprises will make Amanda's birthday a happy one.


When my husband and I were driving home alone after saying goodbye to her, I couldn't help but recall the trip 18 years ago when we brought her home from the hospital, a tiny bundle in a pink flannel blanket. That was a much easier car ride.

Happy Birthday to my sweet daughter, so quickly grown up.

Amy