Martha Stewart's Star Ingredient For Gluten-Free Pie Crust - Tasting Table

"In a YouTube video of her favorite pumpkin desserts, Stewart makes a gluten-free crust for a spiced pumpkin pie. By crushing the rice cereal and mixing it up with a few nuts, it can then be used in place of graham crackers in a crumb crust, which can be baked as usual or used for a chilled pie. Stewart doesn't mention a particular brand of cereal in the video, but the published recipe suggests using Rice Chex."

"This cereal hack is not only gluten-free, but it's also versatile and simple to make. Other types of pie crusts like short crust or flaky pastry require gluten for binding and structure, so making a gluten-free version can be complicated. Crumb crusts on the other hand are held together by melted butter. This means you can swap in any crisp gluten-free cereal without needing to adapt the recipe or add other ingredients."

"Martha Stewart simply pulses the crisp rice cereal in a food processor along with sliced raw almonds, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt. Once it's the texture of fine breadcrumbs, melted butter is poured in. After combining well, the mix is ready to be pressed into a pie dish, which Stewart does with the base of a measuring cup."

Crushed crisp rice cereal combined with sliced raw almonds, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt forms a gluten-free crumb crust when bound with melted butter. The mixture should be pulsed to fine breadcrumbs, then pressed into a pie dish and baked or chilled. Any crisp gluten-free cereal can substitute for rice cereal because crumb crusts rely on melted butter rather than gluten for structure. For a nut-free version, omit almonds and add extra cereal. Flavorings such as cinnamon or cocoa powder can complement fillings. The crust pairs well with baked spiced pumpkin filling and chilled pie preparations.

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