Pineapple Tart

It's finally Wednesday. The week is almost over! Well sort of. As a reward for this long work week I am going on a little shopping spree at anthropologie. And by shopping spree I mean I can purchase one dress. It's what i'm looking forward to right now...motivation. Also, tomorrow more bands will be announced for Bonnaroo. Super excited about that! So anyway, last night I was reading through the new pies and tarts cookbook from Martha Stewart and I found one that looked really good, a pineapple tart. I switched it up a bit and used  my pie crust that is vegan and gluten free (based off of her pate brisee pie dough). You can use any pie crust you like best. But, I may judge you if you use store bought. The last time I was making pie dough I noticed it was more difficult to work with than traditional pie dough. I assumed it was because of the flours I was using. Last night I made sure the dough had ample chilling time, plenty of flour on my work surface, and rolled it a little thicker (about 1/4 inch). I also made sure the pie dough was always cold. I was unsure about making a lattice top, like the recipe, since last time the dough fell apart. I rolled out super cold dough and once I cut the strips I put them back in the fridge to chill. Once chill, I made the lattice and placed the lattice back in the fridge on a sheet of parchment. It worked great. Once it was chill I slid it right over my filled shell. You could even say, "It was easy as pie!". 

For the filling I used a fresh pineapple and cut it into thin bite size pieces. In a sauce pan combine 1/4 cup light brown sugar, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tbsp lemon juice, and 2 tsp vanilla. If you happen to have a vanilla bean scrape out the seeds and toss in both the seeds and bean into the pot. Turn on the heat and once melted together add in the chopped pineapple. Stir and cook for three minutes. Add in 1/2 cup rum and turn the heat up to medium high. Cook until the pineapple has softened and all of the liquid has evaporated, about 20 minutes. Once the filling is cool, place it in the chilled pie crust and top with lattice. Place pie in fridge to chill for about 30 minutes.

To bake the pie preheat your oven to 400 degrees. I brushed the lattice and pie edges with melted earth balance and then sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. After 15 minutes of baking I reduced the temperature to 375 and baked for about 45 minutes more. About half way into the baking I drizzled the top of the pie with some agave for added sweetness and gooeyness. Once brown and bubbly take the pie from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving. This is a great tropical dessert (or snack!) for spring or summer. It would also be tropical perfection with a coconut milk ice cream. Just saying.

p.s. I used a tart pan, not a pie plate.

Martha also knows whats up. She included a gluten and dairy free pie, banana and coconut cashew cream tart. You don't even have to bake it! Props to Martha! -kb