Whiskey Thanksgiving #3:Gluten Free/Whiskey Full

Another Thanksgiving, another excuse to put whiskey in pie. Our cousins hosting Thanksgiving graciously allowed me to bring desserts, so I could try some new recipes. In addition to an old but much-loved standby – the butterscotch pumpkin pie - I also made an eggnog tart with a bourbon coffee sauce and a gluten-free apple crumble with whiskey. 

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In my first attempt at gluten-free baking, I learned an important lesson. Taking out gluten does not have to mean taking out taste. After scouring  mommy blogs, I originally chose a lovely-sounding recipe that used minimal butter and honey instead of sugar. I bought my gluten-free rolled oats and gluten-free flour mix and gave it a try. And I reaffirmed my rule that desserts should be desserts. If you want to be healthy, don’t eat a lot of them, but don’t try to make them healthy when you do. The apples didn’t soften right and the topping hardly covered the apples and burned. I ditched the gluten free recipe for a recipe billed as “the best apple crisp you'll ever have” with all of its buttery and sugar goodness and just made it gluten-free. And it made a dessert of lush, soft apples and a full crispy layer on top - with a hint of whiskey, of course. I served it with Scotch whipped cream and our hostess made salted caramel ice cream. It was a delightful twist on a holiday classic. 

Ingredients:
Topping

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (gluten-free blend)
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats (look specifically for gluten-free)
• 1 cup dark brown sugar 
  
• ½ cup chopped pecans (or almonds)
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces

Filling

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (I used a few drops of bourbon vanilla extract because I didn't have a vanilla bean)
  
• 3 medium-sized Granny Smith apples and 3 sweet apples (such as MacIntosh) peeled, cored, and very thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. bourbon (it's ok if a little more spills in)

Cooking Instructions (as modified from the Ambitious Kitchen website)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease an 8×8 baking pan.
2. To make the topping: Combine the flour, oats, brown sugar and pecans in a large bowl until well-combined. Add in the pieces of butter and use your hands to squeeze and combine until the mixture becomes crumbly and resembles wet sand. 
3. Once finished, place topping in the fridge and begin making the apple filling.
4. To make the filling: Place butter and seeds from the vanilla bean (or a few drips of vanilla extract) in a medium saucepan, and turn heat on medium. After a couple of minutes the butter will begin to crackle and foam—make sure you whisk consistently during this process! Another minute or two, and you will notice the butter turning a slight brown (caramel) color on the bottom of the saucepan; continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to give off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent it from burning. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
5. While the butter is cooling, place apples, 1/3 cup brown sugar, cinnamon and bourbon in a large bowl and toss to combine. Add the brown butter to this apple mixture and toss again to combine.
6. Take a heaping ½ cup of the topping mixture and toss with the apple mixture. Place the apple mixture in prepared pan and sprinkle evenly with topping. 
7. Bake the crisp on a baking sheet (just in case the filling bubbles over!) for 55-60 minutes, or until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbling. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes on wire rack. Serve warm with Scotch Whipped Cream (recipe on In the Kitchen page).

Full disclosure: some do not consider whiskey gluten-free and some do. Most said that distillation takes out the harmful gluten proteins. One person I know said the whiskey is worth the gluten anyway. And some whiskeys actually bill themselves as gluten-free. With just a (healthy) tablespoon in baking, I can’t imagine the trace of gluten would make much of a difference, but I was baking for a family that chooses gluten-free and is not allergic. If someone is extremely sensitive to gluten, it might be worth seeking out the truly gluten-free whiskey or – and I hesitate to recommend this – leaving out the whiskey altogether. 

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The eggnog tart is really more of a cheesecake custard. I modified it from a recipe that called for cranberry jam to be layered below and above the eggnog filling. Instead, I layered chocolate on the tart crust and filled it with the eggnog layer, then topped it with a bourbon coffee sauce. It is rich and full of that eggnog flavor (although I would actually play with adding more nutmeg).  The bourbon coffee sauce is thick and luscious – a caramel-like flavor that is delicious but unfortunately just the color of the turkey gravy (beware when putting away leftovers!). I recommend a little Scotch whipped cream to cut the richness a bit. But then I recommend a little Scotch whipped cream on most things.

Happy Whiskey Thanksgiving! 

Ingredients:
Tart Crust (From Whiskey Chocolate Tart on In the Kitchen page)

• 8 oz Shortbread cookies
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 oz (half a stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 5 oz good-quality dark chocolate (60 to 72 percent cacao), coarsely chopped

Egg Nog Filling (from Cranberry Egg Nog Tart recipe on Epicurious)

• 1 1/2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons crème fraîche or heavy cream
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 whole large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons bourbon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Espresso Bourbon Caramel Sauce (as featured on yummly)

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 stick)
• 1 cup light brown sugar (packed)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons  light corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder

Preheat the oven to 300° F and position a rack in the center. Lightly spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a food processor, pulse the cookies into very fine crumbs. (You should have approximately 1.75 cups.) Place the crumbs into a bowl, add the sugar and salt, and stir to combine. Pour the butter over the crumbs and mix with a fork until combined. Turn the mixture out into the prepared pan and press it into the bottom and up the sides using your fingers or the bottom of a metal measuring cup. Place the pan in the freezer for about 5 minutes, then place on a baking sheet, and bake until the crust is just dry to the touch but not browned, about 12 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate pieces over the top and spread over the crust with spatula as it melts. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. 

Blend cream cheese, crème fraîche, and sugar in cleaned food processor until creamy, about 1 minute. Add whole eggs, yolks, bourbon, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt and process until smooth. Pour over chocolate covered crust. Cover edge of tart shell with pie shield or foil and bake until filling is set but still trembles slightly in center, 35 to 40 minutes (filling will continue to set as it cools).

Melt the butter in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, cream, and corn syrup and stir until smooth. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, whisk in the bourbon and espresso, and set aside until slightly cooled, about 20 minutes. Before serving, whisk the sauce until smooth.

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