Grain-free Christmas: Butter Tarts and Cinnamon Stars

December 7, 2012 by Leanne Vogel December 10, 2018

I love hearing Kevin talk about his childhood in Germany, especially the memories he has of Christmas. The traditions his family created during the holidays are so different from my own. The Christmas markets that one could visit for hours, visits from Christkind, children being kept from seeing the Christmas tree until the very last moment, it’s all so different, wonderful and magical.

Now that we have our own home together we get to combine our traditions into something that resonates with both of us. I share my stories, he shares his and we make new memories together.

One thing that we have always agreed on was the necessity to have Christmas goodies in the house. Germany has quite the selection of Christmas desserts I tell ya. From mandelspritzgebck to vanillekipferln, marzepan to dominosteine. They’re all so delicious and amazingly many of them are gluten-free, too!

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When Divya from Divya Yadava Magazine invited me to share some of my favorite Christmas recipes in her Winter 2012 issue I thought making two recipes; one from my Canadian Christmas memories and the other from Kevin’s German Christmas traditions, would be a fun approach.

I chose to make butter tarts for the Canadian recipe, one of my all-time favorites as a child, and cinnamon stars for the German recipe – Kevin’s Mom always sends us a batch in the mail every year around this time!

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Grain-free Butter Tarts

Author: Leanne Vogel

Recipe type: Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Refined sugar-free, Yeast-free, Corn-free, Grain-free

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 35 mins

Total time: 55 mins

Serves: 4

Butter tarts are unique to Canada and a staple at every family function we have whether it be Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter or otherwise. Traditionally, butter tarts consist of pastry shells that are filled with a sweet mixture of butter (dairy), and brown sugar or corn syrup (refined sugar). Not so friendly for those with allergies!

Ingredients

Crust:

⅓ cup coconut flour
¼ cup almond flour
1 egg at room temperature
3 tablespoons coconut nectar, honey or raw agave
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
Pinch sea salt

Filling:

¼ cup coconut nectar, honey or raw agave
1 egg
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
2 tablespoons full-fat coconut milk
¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ cup raisins

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325F.
With a hand or stand mixer, combine flours, egg, coconut nectar, coconut oil and sea salt in a medium sized bowl. Continue to mix for 1 minute until mix is crumbly.
Press dough into a non-stick, four dish, 4-inch tartlett pan.
Place the pan in the fridge while you make the tart filling.
Place coconut nectar, egg, coconut oil, coconut milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Whisk until all ingredients are combined.
Divide raisins amongst the four tarts and pour prepared filling overtop.
Place the tartlett pan in the 325F oven for a total of 30-35 minutes, until filling has set and edges are golden. After 10 minutes of being in the oven, cover the tarlett pan with loose fitting foil to avoid the edges from burning.
Once complete, remove from the oven and allow to sit for 30 minutes before serving.
Serve with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon.