Remember the “Fool Proof Pie Crust” recipe that was so popular in the 80’s?……the one with the egg and a bit of lemon juice or vinegar? Well, I just tweaked and low carbed it! Got the idea from Georgene on Low-Carb Friends forums, but tweaked her version a bit more. The final recipe is only loosely similar to the original Fool Proof Pie Crust recipe, most notably it doesn’t have nearly 2 cups of FLOUR! Mine is more of a shortbread type of crust. I’m so pleased with how these came out, because the Fool-Proof crust was always my favorite pie crust recipe before I began my low-carb adventures.

Today I made the tastiest strawberry jam and homemade loquat jam tartlets! The dough will make 27 tartlet shells or 1 large single-crust pie shell. These shells can also be used for savory fillings like chopped sauteed mushrooms, onion and parsley with a bit of cream cheese. Mmmm. This recipe is not suitable until Atkins Phase 2 OWL nuts and seeds rung of the carb ladder. It would be suitable for Primal but not Paleo diners. The nutritional counts below are for the empty shells only. Be sure to add in the carbs for your fillings for a total count for your final tartlets. I order my coconut flour and oat fiber from Honeyvillegrains on-line and I use NOW brand of whey protein and egg white protein. My glucomannan powder I order from Netrition.com.

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INGREDIENTS:

1/3 c. + 1 T. coconut flour

1/3 c. + 1 T. oat fiber

2½ T. egg white protein

2½ T. plain whey protein powder

1½ tsp. baking powder

1½ tsp. glucomannan powder (konjac powder)

¼ c. + 3 T. palm shortening (or cold butter)

1 small egg

1 tsp. lemon juice or apple cider vinegar

2 T. water

DIRECTIONS: Measure all dry ingredients into a medium mixing bowl. Stir well. Add shortening (or butter) and stir (cut in) to blend evenly into the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Add the egg, water and 1 tsp. lemon juice. Beat them in the well and then slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the egg mixture with a fork until it is pretty well blended. It will not form a single ball of dough like a traditional flour pie crust, but it will come together in a fairly stiff, malleable dough you can handle without it sticking to your hands. If it is too dry to do this, add 1 T. more water slowly as you incorporate it; if it is too wet, a sprinkle the tiniest bit more oat fiber in and blend well. You want it to be almost as moist as regular pie dough, so you can work with it with your fingers.

At this point, preheat your oven to 350º. If using silicone pans, support with a metal pan. Spoon about 1 T. into each of 27 tartlet mold slots. Press the dough into the bottom and walls of the slots with your fingers. Fill with 1 teaspoon of your favorite pie fillings, jams, preserves, creme fillings, pecan pie filling, pumpkin pie filling, or whatever you like that will cook thoroughly in about 18 minutes. Pop pans into 350º oven for 17-18 minutes or until the crust is beginning to brown lightly and filling is done. Cool a few minutes and gently pop them out of the pans by pushing up from the bottom if using silicone, by using a knife tip if using metal mini muffin pans. This is the Wilson silicone pan I use (I have 2):

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 27 mini tartlet shells, each contains: (unfilled)

43 calories

4.1 g fat

2.21 g carbs, 1.69 g fiber, .53 g NET CARBS

.95 g protein

18 mg sodium

12 mg potassium

< 10% RDA all macronutrients