The Maine Pie Co. sent us four of their gluten-free pies to review. We ate them for all of you.
Gluten-Free pies - especially frozen ones - can be a mixed bag. Like with so many other products in the GF atmosphere, there are folks making mind-blowingly delicious products, and then there are the brands that make goods that are... well... less-than-stellar. I'd tried the Maine Pie Co. gluten-free pie shells before, so I was hopeful that the buttery, flaky crusts I'd enjoyed would hold up to being filled, frozen and baked. I was also hoping that the fillings themselves would have the right amount of sweetness: I'm a girl that likes to taste the apples and pumpkin as opposed to being smacked over the head with sugar. I know y'all are with me on that.
I invited a few friends over to help, since sampling four kinds of pie at once should either be a reason for a party or a team sport, depending on your mindset. As is so often the case, I was the only one who lives gluten-free (my husband mostly does too, but that's because I cook.) I'll cut to the chase, since that's what you're here for: we were all completely happy with the pies.
I think that's really important, especially with "pie season" right around the corner. The time of year when everyone exchanges baked goods and cozies up to a plateful of pastry after stuffing themselves with turkey can be hard for those of us who can't join in the dessert buffet. With these options from Maine Pie Co., everyone can have the same dessert, and everyone will enjoy it.
Here are some notes from the flavors we sampled, all of which are available online from Gluten-Free Mall:
Pumpkin: just as it should be! Flaky crust and simple, creamy pumpkin custard.
Maine Wild Blueberry: the flavor on this pie is no joke! It's packed with tiny, powerhouse wild blueberries and a touch of lemon juice. The lattice crust held together and browned nicely.
Apple Crumb: the apples were cut in nice size chunks and stayed slightly firm. The filling has a little cinnamon and nutmeg, and was set well without getting getting overly "gloppy" - which is usually my complaint about fruit pies. The crumb topping is full of butter, cinnamon and oats - old school in a really good way.
Chocolate Tart: this is not a drill. This tart is filled with DARK chocolate filling that bakes up somewhere between brownie and fudge. You'll want to serve this with whipped cream or espresso (or both), which is always a good idea anyway.
You can also find Maine Pie Co. gluten-free pies from some grocers on the East Coast, check out their store locator here. I know you're gonna ask, so I'll tell you now: the crusts contain butter and eggs. The Maine Pie Co. facility is 100% gluten-free and they ELISA test anyway to keep everyone safe. I knew I liked these people.
In dessert we trust -
KC
The folks from Maine Pie Co. provided materials for this post. All words and ideas are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands I work with, which allows G-Free Foodie to grow.
Carolyn Mathews says
THese pies are delicious ! You would never know they were gluten free unless someone told you ! We absolutely love the apple pie with the crumb topping.