“Everyone is Happy” Pumpkin Pie

Pie!!!!!

 

This holiday season, I really wanted to see if there were classic alternatives that would please the palette of everyone, no matter what you eat (or don’t eat). It was actually quite a process to track a recipe for pumpkin pie that was vegan but didn’t call for tofu or sugar.

The Pumpkin Pie from Affairs of Living is sugar/gluten/soy/dairy-free and vegan. Jon and Braxton had 2 pieces each last night, and I would consider Jon a pumpkin pie aficionado. Here’s another one I’ll try later using a different crust made from toasted coconut and coconut oil.

I only changed three things in the recipe; 1. Used only a sprinkle of stevia powder, 2. Used 2 T agave and 1 T honey, and 3. Used canned coconut milk instead of the liquid kind-the can is creamier. All of the ingredients were easily found at Marlene’s in Tacoma. Don’t let it worry you if you see something you aren’t familiar with like agar powder or arrowroot. They can probably be located with minimal effort if you have a health food store near you. It looks like a lot of stuff, and it actually kind of gave me some anxiety because it seemed like so much work, but it was really easy! Not as easy as the traditional 5 ingredient pie, but it was well worth the effort to create a healthy alternative!

From Kim @ Affairs of Living: Pumpkin Pie With Crunchy Crust (Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free, Vegan, ACD)

pie filling adapted from Myra Kornfield’s Voluptuous Vegan

yields 1 9″ pie

• 3 cup pumpkin or squash puree (from a 2 1/2-3 lb squash, or canned) – I used Butternut squash
• 1 cup SoDelicious Coconut Milk beverage, coconut milk, or other non-dairy milk
• 4 teaspoons melted coconut oil (or other light oil)
• 1/2-3/4 teaspoon stevia extract powder or 30-40 drops tsp plain, vanilla, or English toffee flavor stevia liquid
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch or arrowroot flour
• 1 teaspoon agar agar powder (NOT agar agar flakes.  If you are not vegan, you can sub 1 teaspoon unflavored plain gelatin powder)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla powder OR 1 teaspoon GF vanilla extract or flavoring
• 2 tablespoons mesquite flour, 1/4 teaspoon allspice, 1/4 teaspoon cardamom OR 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2-3 tablespoons agave nectar, yacon syrup, vegetable glycerin, coconut nectar, or brown rice syrup
• 1 recipe for Crunchy Crust (recipe below), or other 9″ pie crust

Heat oven to 400º F.

Prepare Crunchy Crust or another pie crust recipe, and put in prepared 9″ pie pan.

Make puree by placing cooked squash/pumpkin in a food processor/blender, and pureeing until totally smooth.
Add milk, oil, stevia, arrowroot, agar agar powder, salt, vanilla, liquid sweetener (if using) and spices to blender, and blend again until totally smooth and well incorporated.  Pour pumpkin mixture into prepared crust and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool completely before serving.

 

Gluten Free Crunchy Pie Crust

crust adapted from Jeanne Marie Martin’s Complete Candida Yeast Guidebook

yield 1 9″ crust

• 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup raw cashews (or almonds or hazelnuts or other nut/seed)
• 1/2 cup arrowroot flour or arrowroot starch
• 1/2 cup teff flour or amaranth flour
• 1 tablespoon mesquite flour or 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoons salt
• 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil (or other oil)
• 2 tablespoons cold water

Heat oven to 400* F and oil a 9″ pie pan.

Grind nuts and seeds in a blender/food processer until finely ground (a few chunks are okay). Mix together ground nuts/seeds, arrowroot, teff, mesquite/cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl until well mixed.  Add coconut oil, and toss to evenly coat mixture with oil.  Add water bit by bit, until a coarse, dry dough forms.  If it seems really dry and won’t stick together, add a little more cold water.

Pat into prepared pie tin into a crust about 1/4″ thick, and then place in the oven for about 7-8 minutes.
Remove crust from the oven, and let cool slightly in pan on wire rack before filling with pumpkin mixture.