Gluten-Free Walnut-Oat Pie Crust

Making your own "from scratch" items not only saves tons of money on your monthly grocery bill, it's also considerably healthier for your family. Whole grain and packed with omega 3 nutrient rich walnuts, this recipe is the perfect substitute for store-bought graham cracker pie crusts, with the added bonus of being gluten-free as well.

You'll Need:
1 1/3 cups old-fashioned or quick oats (not instant)
1 cup chopped walnuts
6 Tbs melted unsalted butter
1/3 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
¼ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the oats in a single layer on an ungreased cookie sheet until they begin to brown (about 15 minutes). Bake the chopped walnuts on a ungreased cookie sheet until they begin to brown, about 8 minutes. (I recommend using separate cookie sheets as they cook for different lengths of time.

Once they're browned, transfer them to a food processor, and finely chop, add the butter, sugar and salt. Process until the texture of a graham cracker crust. Press it into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch regular pie pan.

Bake the crust until it’s just barely beginning to brown, 10-12 minutes. Remove it from the oven and set it on a rack to cool.

Fill with any preferred filling. We use this in place of graham cracker crusts for a delicious (gluten-free) pie crust!