This recipe is another one adapted from Canadian Living for gluten-free diets -- with a few additions that suit our taste for spice. These are a favourite appetizer for any occasion. We use jalapeno pepper jelly made from home-grown organic peppers. A 1/2 cup jar is just enough for one batch of 36 tartlets.
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
1 cup finely grated, well-packed old Cheddar
2 tbsp (approx) ice water
1/2 cup jalapeno pepper jelly -- recipe below (or other savoury jelly)
Whisk together flours, pepper, and salt. Cut in butter until in fine crumbs. Stir in cheese. Add water one tablespoonful at a time, tossing with a fork, until dough begins to form clumps. Do not use too much water in gluten-free pastry; it will cause toughness.
Press dough into a disc, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour. Divide dough into 36 pieces. Press each piece into a tartlet cup, pressing onto bottom and up sides. Prick bottoms with a fork. Spoon about 1/2 tsp of the pepper jelly into each cup.
Bake at 375F for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp and golden. Let cool in the pan 5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on a rack.
Jalapeno Pepper Jelly: Mince 5 (or more) jalapeno peppers. Include the seeds to make a hotter jelly; discard the seeds to tame the heat. Place minced jalapenos in a 4 cup measure, and add minced red and green sweet peppers to fill to 4 cups. Pour into a large saucepan and add 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar. In a separate small bowl, whisk 1 box light pectin crystals with 1/4 cup of sugar. Slowly add this mixture to prepared peppers in the saucepan. Place over high heat and stir constantly until mixture returns to a full boil. Stir in 3 cups sugar. Stir constantly as mixture returns to a full boil. Continue to stir and boil hard for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Skim off foam with metal spoon. Pour quickly into warm jars filling to 1/8” from the top. Process in boiling water bath. Yields about 5 cups.
