Sunday, April 26, 2009

Macadamia Nut Crust with Coconut Flakes (gluten-free!)

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Do you ever get tired of graham cracker crusts? I know I do. Graham cracker crusts have been used with cheesecakes, lime bars, and fruit tarts only a hundred million times (precisely). If you are like me, you are probably thinking it's about time for something different. And if you are like me, graham cracker crusts are an annoying problem anyways, what with all that gluten and stuff. I hate that so many people assume that a good cheesecake crust can only be made out of crushed cookies, because I disagree. Strongly.

ENTER MACADAMIA NUT CRUST!

This crust is a little different for your tired graham cracker routine. But it's delicious. So buttery, crisp, and flakey! I had a REALLY hard time resisting the urge to stuff all the batter in my face before it made it into the pan. It was just SO GOOD. And it's gluten free! Unless you don't want it to be. It's really easy to make it gluten free or to make it with regular wheat flour. Whatever floats your boat. We aim to please all parties here at at Delish.



Macadamia Nut Cheesecake Crust with Coconut Flakes. Gluten-free! (or not)

By no means should we consider this recipe "complete." I imagine that there is room for a lot of room to make the recipe your own. I myself am sure I will be tweaking this recipe and making it better for a long time to come. But as a base, this recipe is a winner!

FIRST THINGS FIRST: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and get out your food processor.

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Start with 1 cup macadamia nuts.


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Add 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes


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Add 2 tbs salted butter


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And don't forget an egg yolk from a happy, free-range chicken.


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And of course, you need your powders. If you are making this recipe gluten free, use the following: 2 tablespoons brown rice flour, 2 tablespoons sweet rice flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/4 teaspoon xanthum gum. (If you are using wheat flour, simply sub in white whole wheat flour for the rice flours).


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Pulse the ingredients together until they begin to ball up. Then pull it out and gently pat into your pan (I am using ramekins here. I don't recommend it for cheesecake, they were very hard to get out!


Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, until firm. Let cook before filling. Enjoy!

7 comments:

  1. Looks great! Did you mean to leave out your "line" to get credit for posting?

    Wonderful pix! And it looks like you're using a P&S?! UNBELIEVABLE! Really like your blog a lot!

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  2. Great job on your challenge and it sounds equally delicious.

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  3. Oh my. Great presentation and photos. I see I'm not the only TJ's fan :)

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  4. You had me at the "macadamia nut crust part" and again at RUM !!! Your creation sounds and looks heavenly. I will only be using eggs from "happy" free-range chicken in the future!

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  5. Hi

    I was wondering what is xanthum gum, as you can see I'm not on a gluten free diet and also can I use plan all-purpose flour in this recipe.

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  6. Hi Jackie!

    xanthum gum is (I think!) made from corn, and it's used in gluten-free cooking sometimes to help things stick together. Gluten is really sticky, and most gluten free flours are not: they can be pretty crumbly, so without xanthum gum, it's kind of a mess! It's often carried in health food stores and at Whole Foods.

    If you are using all purpose wheat flour, no need to worry about xanthum gum - you can just leave it out! :)

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  7. I have been looking for something like this to make for Thanksgiving. My daughter is gluten, egg and dairy intolerant. What other substitutes can I use for the egg and butter?

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