What is Chebe?

Chebe uses tapioca (manioc) starch as the base for their grain free mixes. Made from the cassava root, tapioca flour is “the starch extracted from the cassava root through a process of washing and pulping.” Cassava flour, on the other hand, is the complete root, ground up and turned into flour. (Learn this and more from 5 Things You Need to Know About Cassava Flour by Downshiftology.)

Chebe’s All-Purpose Bread Mix contains just 5 ingredients. “Manioc (tapioca) flour, modified manioc starch (100% manioc), cream of tartar, iodine-free sea salt, sodium bicarbonate.” You can use their product locator to find it in a store near you or order directly from their website. One 8 pack case costs only $25.

Where to Buy Brie and Other Cheeses

Believe or not, my fancy cheese hook up is Aldi. I purchase everything from gouda to brie to gruyere there. I don’t even bother looking at other stores anymore. Speaking of gouda, this cheese will also work in these grain free cranberry brie bites. Someone suggested on the Delish website about using goat cheese, and I bet it would be great.

Recipe tip. I recommend trimming the top and bottom rind off the the cheese. It melts better, and IMO, tastes better. This works better if you chill the cheese in the freezer first. Just plop in the freezer prior to making the dough, and you’re all set.

Need it Dairy Free? I haven’t tried it with a dairy free cheese, but would think that Miyoko’s would work well in this. Kite Hill and Follow Your Heart also make really good dairy free cheese.

How to Assemble Your Grain Free Cranberry Brie Bites

Unlike my Gluten Free Black Bean Enchilada Cups, this recipe requires a mini muffin pan. NOT a standard size muffin pan.

I originally saw this recipe on the Delish website. They started with 8 oz of crescent dough. I tried these gluten free Cranberry Brie Bites with 8 oz of Chebe dough, and it was NOT enough. One prepared box of Chebe is approximately 14 oz, and I recommend using all of it for this recipe.

Roll the dough into a 12 x 8 rectangle. Cut 6 strips along the top edge, and 4 strips along the width/  short edge. This will create 24 squares of dough. I found the need to roll each square just a bit each more to make a slightly larger square of dough. Then press into a oiled mini muffin cup, with the points of the square pointing up.

Grain Free Cranberry Brie Bites Recipe Substitutions

I’m not one to often use fresh herbs. But I gotta admit, the little bit of rosemary in this appetizer really heightens the flavor. (Trust me, I baked a batch of grain free cranberry bites without it. Definitely preferred this appetizer WITH the rosemary.

What about nuts? If you are allergic to nuts, you can leave them off. (Or use SuperSeedz. I’d recommend the cinnamon sugar ones.) If you can eat walnuts, those could be subbed as well. I wouldn’t recommend peanuts.

Egg or Dairy Free? The dough can be made with aquafaba,per directions on the Chebe website. (Although I have not tried this recipe, with that method.) I chose to use butter instead of oil to make the dough softer. You can use 2 tbsp of oil instead of butter, instead. The recipe calls for 4 tbsp of milk, but you should be able to substitute a dairy free milk.

Other Gluten Free Appetizers You’ll Love

Have you visited the Chebe recipe website? It contains multiple pages of grain free appetizer and snack recipes! In addition, these grain free Cranberry Brie Bites pair perfectly with a gluten free charcuterie board, as well. Looking for more hand held eats? Visit Gluten Free Palate for her list of Best Gluten Free New Year’s Eve Appetizers.

What are your favorite gluten free appetizers? What nibbles do you enjoy on New Year’s Eve? Leave me a comment below!

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Grain Free Cranberry Brie Bites

Keyword gluten free cranberry brie bites

Equipment

• Wilton mini muffin pan, Silver
• Chebe Bread All-Purpose Mix, Gluten Free, 7.5-Ounce Bags (Pack of 8)
• Fisher Chef’s Naturals Pecan Halves 24oz

Ingredients

For the Chebe Dough

• 1 box Chebe All Purpose Bread Mix
• 2 tbsp cold butter cut into small pieces
• 2 eggs
• 4 tbsp cold milk
• extra tapioca starch for rolling

For the filling

• 1 cup whole berry cranberry sauce canned or homemade
• 8 oz brie but into small pieces
• 1 cup pecans finely chopped
• 24 rosemary leaves

Instructions

• Place wheel of Brie in freezer for 30 – 60 minutes to firm up. Prior to assembling the Cranberry Brie Bites, trim the top and bottom ends of the brie to remove the rind. Finely chop the pecans. 
• In a food processor, combine Chebe All Purpose Bread Mix and cold butter pieces. Pulse until butter is completely incorporated. 
• Next, add both eggs and pulse until thoroughly mixed. Finally, add milk one tbsp at a time until dough starts to form. 
• Turn dough out onto silicone mat or lightly floured parchment paper. (Use tapioca starch for rolling purposes to keep this recipe grain free.) Knead dough until a soft ball forms. 
• Spray mini muffin tin with cooking oil and preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
• Roll dough into a 12 x 8 inch rectangle. Mark each end in 2 inch segments, and then cut dough into 24 equal squares. You will likely need to roll each square a bit thinner to stretch it over the cavity of the mini muffin cup. You want the tips of the square to be sticking up over the rim of the muffin cup. 
• Remove cheese from freezer. Trim off the rind, and cut 24 small pieces of cheese from the cheese. I had 1/3 of the cheese leftover. If you fill the cup too full of cheese, it will overflow on to the muffin tin. 
• Fill each cavity with one small piece of Brie, approximately 1 tsp of cranberry sauce (or other preserves with fruit pieces) and about 1/2 tsp of chopped nuts. (I just eyeballed it.) 
• Finally, add one or two leaves of rosemary to the top of each appetizer. 
• Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, rotating the pan half way through.

Notes

**Note – The baked brie may bubble and melt a bit over the top of the appetizers. You can gently scoop the cheese back into each cup when you remove the pan from the oven. Do so immediately, as it firms up quickly. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1g

**Chebe provided the ingredients for this post, and also monetarily compensated for my time. This post does contain affiliate links. Purchases made through those links help support this blog with no extra expense to you. Thank you for your continued support!**

Originally Published December 2019

The post Grain Free Cranberry Brie Bites appeared first on MI Gluten Free Gal.

Stuffing Flavor in a Pastry Crust

I think it’s safe to say that the signature dish of Thanksgiving is stuffing. So what if you made a “stuffing” pie crust, filled it with traditional Thanksgiving staples and baked it in the oven? Brilliant, am I right?! When these pasties come out of the oven, they truly smell and taste like Thanksgiving. You may have a hard time only eating one!

The basis for my Thanksgiving pasties starts with the Chebe focaccia mix. It already contains rosemary and basil in the mix. To make it taste like stuffing, I add a teaspoon each of sage and thyme. After making the dough, I tossed it in the fridge to chill while I chopped my other ingredients.

Raw vs Pre Cooked Meat

The first time I made these Thanksgiving pasties, I started with cooked deli turkey. Let me tell ya, it didn’t cut it. Too dry. Even with the addition of goat and brie cheeses, it needed more moisture. This time I used Butterball turkey breast instead. 

The juices it released as it cooked helped to keep the pasty incredibly moist. As for the remaining ingredients, I went by an old hand-written recipe card from my husband’s grandfather. (The same one that gave me the recipe for that most amazing buckwheat bread.) Seeing his penmanship, so neatly done, brings warmth to my heart. Even though Papa Earle passed years ago, he can still be part of our holiday traditions.

What’s Inside a Thanksgiving Pasty?

To fill these Thanksgiving pasties, you mix all the meat and vegetables together in a large bowl. The one thing that makes these pasties stand out is the addition of cranberry sauce. Because one can’t have Thanksgiving with cranberries, am I right?

I’m not usually a fan of the canned stuff. I much prefer it made from scratch, like in this Cranberry Orange Sauce recipe from Texanerin. However, in this recipe canned cranberries will work just fine. When filling your Thanksgiving pasties, use 1/2 cup of filling, and place it on the front half of the dough. This allows you room to fold the top half over and seal the pasty.

Gravy or no Gravy?

These Thanksgiving pasties are so amazing, friends. Seriously, pictures and words can not do this justice. I literally ate this top half after taking pictures. It’s taking all the willpower I have to not go devour the second half. It pairs perfectly with Full Flavor Foods Turkey Gravy.

Thanksgiving Pasty Recipes That Use Leftovers

Now, if you’d rather not do all the chopping and cutting, there are recipes on the internet for using Thanksgiving leftovers in a pasty. This recipe for homemade Thanksgiving pasties from 12 Tomatoes uses leftover stuffing, mashed potatoes and turkey inside. I haven’t tried it, but if you decide to do so, let me know!

(And if you want an amazing way to use up leftover mashed potatoes, check out my gluten-free mashed potato crust quiche recipe!)

Can I Use A Different Crust Mix than Chebe?

You could likely use a gluten free pie crust recipe for the crust. Chebe already contains basil and rosemary in their mix. If you plan to use a homemade crust, you will need to add those herbs on your own. Maybe 1/2 tsp to a tsp each?

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Grain Free Thanksgiving Pasties

Author Margaret Clegg

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 pkg Chebe Focaccia mix
• 1 tsp sage
• 1 tsp thyme
• 4 tbsp cold butter cut in small pieces
• 2 eggs room temp
• 2 tbsp oil
• 4 tbsp ice cold water
• rice flour or grain-free starch for rolling

Filling

• 1/4 c. Brussels sprouts shredded
• 1/4 c onions diced
• 1/2 c. sweet potatoes diced
• 1/2 c. mushrooms diced
• 1/3 c. canned whole cranberry sauce
• 1/2 lb raw turkey breast diced
• 1 egg beaten

Instructions

• Add thyme and sage to Chebe mix. Next, add butter and cut it into the dry mix. This can be done in a food processor or with your hands. 
• Second, add eggs and oil to mix and stir to combine. 
• To finish making the dough, add the ice cold water, one tablespoon at a time until a solid ball forms. 
• Place dough in refrigerator to chill while you prep remaining ingredients. 
• Start prepping the filing by dicing the vegetables. I used my food processor to shred the sprouts. Chop the onion, sweet potatoes and mushrooms into 1/2 in" chunks. 
• Finally, chop your turkey meat. Ground turkey can also be used for this. Once your meat is chopped, combine it with the vegetables and cranberry sauce in a large bowl
• Remove dough from refrigerator and preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
• Light coat a flat surface (I use a pastry mat) with rice flour. (You can use potato starch if you need to keep it grain free.) Separate the dough ball into 4 equal portions. Roll one of the four small dough balls into a circle, roughly 7 in" in diameter. Repeat with remaining dough until all our portions have been rolled. 
• Using a 1/2 c. measuring cup, fill one half of a dough circle with the turkey and vegetable mixture. Place the filling near the the front half of the circle, allowing room to fold up the back half to close the pasty. (See the third picture in this post as an example.) Crimp closed and brush with beaten egg. 
• Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. 
• Serve hot, with turkey gravy if desired. (I use Full Flavor Foods gravy mix.) 

So what creative things have you made with Chebe products? Do you have something you’d like to see me create? Leave me a comment below and let me know how Chebe has impacted your baking!

**Chebe provided the ingredients for this post. I was not otherwise paid or compensated for my time. This post does contain affiliate links. Purchases made through those links help support this blog with no extra expense to you. Thank you for your continued support!**

Originally Published November 2017

The post Grain Free Thanksgiving Pasties appeared first on MI Gluten Free Gal.