Egg-free Pumpkin Pie Recipe (Vegan)

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I decided this year I would come up with a vegan pumpkin pie recipe (no dairy, no eggs) so Sam can enjoy it more than one time. I thought that adding flour to the pumpkin mixture in lieu of eggs would stick it together and give it the right texture. The hard part was figuring out exactly how much flour to use. I'm happy to say I have it just right in this recipe and the texture is spot-on. Also, the spice blend I came up with works perfectly with the pumpkin. This pie is super easy to make, and it smells heavenly while baking. I'm thrilled with how this pie turned out, and am looking foward to making it again for Thanksgiving.

Egg-Free Pumpkin Pie Recipe

1 small can of 100% pure pumpkin (15 oz.)
1 cup of Hemp milk or vegan milk
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup unbleached flour
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 recipe of Flaky Pie Crust (I use 1 cup of just unbleached flour for it, not both types of flour)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the sugar, flour, spices, and salt in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the pumpkin and milk and stir it all together until well-combined.

Make the pie crust dough. Lay a large piece of wax paper on your work surface, put the ball of dough in the middle, and lay another large piece of wax paper over the top. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a thin circle larger than the pie pan. Spray the pie pan with non-stick cooking spray. Peel the top piece of wax paper off, and invert the crust, centered, into the pie pan and remove the other piece of wax paper. Press the dough into place in the pie pan. Fold the edges of the dough that is hanging over back under itself along the edges of the pie pan and press the dough to the sides of the pie pan to make a nice crust.

Pour the pumpkin pie filling in the middle of the pie crust and use a spoon or spatula to move the filling to the sides of the crust.

Bake the pie for 1 hour. Let the pie cool for 2 hours before serving. Store the pie in the refrigerator.

Ice Cream Pie Cupcake Recipe

Happy Birthday, Sam! I made these wonderful "Ice Cream Pie Cupcakes" for Sam's birthday today. The idea to make these frozen cupcakes just came to me out of the blue, and I am very happy with how they turned out. The combination of the shortbread crust with vanilla ice cream and blackberry sorbet is so tasty. I've posted my recipes for the crust and sorbet previously, this is just a new way to put them together for a fun dessert.

Ice Cream Pie Cupcake Recipe

1 recipe of Vegan Shortbread (pie crust)
1 recipe of Blackberry Sorbet
1/2 pint of vanilla ice cream of your choice (I used Coconut Bliss vegan ice cream)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Make the Vegan Shortbread pie crust recipe. Instead of pressing the dough into a pie pan, spray 8 sections of a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray, divide the dough into 8 pieces, and press the dough into each of the muffin sections to yield 8 mini crusts. Spray the mini crusts with more non-stick cooking spray and bake them in the oven for 15 minutes. Let them fully cool before adding the ice cream.

Let the ice cream sit out for 30 minutes or so to soften up before scooping and spreading the ice cream into the pie crust. Fill each pie crust to the top with ice cream. Put the muffin tray in the freezer to set while you make the sorbet.

Make the Blackberry Sorbet recipe. As soon as it is done, while it is still soft, scoop out a heaping tablespoon of sorbet and top the Ice Cream Pie Cupcakes with the sorbet like it is frosting. After "frosting" all of the cupcakes, put the muffin tray back in the freezer for a couple of hours before serving.

When you're ready to serve them, slide a knife down into the side of a cupcake and it will pop right out of the muffin tin. You can serve the cupcakes on a plate and just pick them up like a regular cupcake to eat, or you can put them in small custard cups and eat them with a fork. Makes 8 Ice Cream Pie Cupcakes.

Fabulous Mixed Berry Pie Recipe (Vegan)

Many years ago I created this pie recipe when I needed a dessert for a holiday meal. The addition of Allspice to the pie filling really adds great flavor. I always use frozen berries to make this pie, and the consistency of the filling comes out perfect every time. The picture above is a mixed berry pie with strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries in it.

Fabulous Mixed Berry Pie Recipe

2 - 12 oz. bags of frozen unsweetened mixed berries (24 oz. or 1-1/2 lbs)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp Allspice
1/2 tsp salt

1 recipe of Flaky Pie Crust (I use 2 cups of just unbleached flour for it, not both types of flour)

Top with Sugar in the Raw

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay a piece of aluminum foil on the oven rack where you are going to bake the pie just in case any of the filling runs over.

In a medium sauce pan add the frozen berries, sprinkle the sugar and the flour evenly over the berries, and add the Allspice and the salt. Turn the heat onto Medium and gently stir everything together. Continue to stir the berries over Medium heat constantly for about 5 minutes until it is well mixed and the filling has a nice consistency.

Make the pie crust dough and divide it in half. Lay a large piece of wax paper on your work surface, form half of the dough into a ball and set it in the middle of the wax paper. Take another large piece of wax paper and cover the ball and roll it out into a large circle between the wax paper pieces that is bigger than your pie pan.

Spray a 9" pie pan with non-stick cooking spray. Remove the top piece of wax paper, and invert the rolled out pie crust over the pie pan and peel the wax paper off it. Use your fingers to gently press the crust into the pie pan and let the edges hang over the sides. Pour the pie filling into the crust.

Form the second half of the dough into a ball and set it on the wax paper again, cover it with the other piece of wax paper, and roll it into a circle large enough to cover the top of the pie with edges hanging over. Remove the top piece of wax paper and make a few slits into the pie crust. Once again, invert the pie crust over the pie to cover it evenly and peel away the wax paper. Press the two crust edges together and roll them under and just inside the edge of the pie pan. After you've done that around the whole pie, use a fork to gently press the crust to the edges of the pie pan all around the pie. Top the pie with a sprinkling of Sugar in the Raw.

Bake the pie for 1 hour. Let it cool before serving it.

Individual Chicken Pot Pies Recipe

I love homemade chicken soup and I love pie crust, so I came up with a chicken pot pie recipe for my family. I created a simple chicken soup recipe that when thickened, makes a great filling for the pie. Years ago I found this Flaky Pie Crust recipe on Vegan Pantry's website and I use it exclusively for all of my pot pies and fruit pies. This recipe takes about 2 hours from beginning to end (1 hour prep, 1 hour baking), but believe me, it's worth it. We absolutely love chicken pot pie night at our house.

Individual Chicken Pot Pies Recipe

1 large carrot or 2 medium carrots
1/4 head of a small green cabbage

2 tbsp olive oil
Pepper
3-1/2 cups water
3 bay leaves
2 tsp of Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base(Kosher if you can find it)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup frozen peas (optional)
2 heaping tbsp unbleached flour whisked with 1/3 cup water for slurry

1/2 recipe of Flaky Pie Crust (I use 1 cup of just unbleached flour for it, not both types of flour)

4 Pyrex Original 10-oz. Custard Cups

To prepare the vegetables and the chicken breasts:

Wash and dry all of the vegetables. Peel and slice or dice the carrots. Slice the small chunk of cabbage into strips and chop it into small 1 inch pieces. Cut the chicken breasts in half so they fit in your pot easier.

To make the pot pie filling:

In a large pot over High heat, add the olive oil, cabbage and carrots. Pepper to taste. Saute the vegetables for about 10 minutes to get them slightly browned. Add the water, Better than Bouillon, and bay leaves. When boiling, add the chicken breasts. Get the soup back to a boil, turn the heat down to Low, cover the pot with a lid, and simmer the chicken breasts for 15 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the pot and cut the cooked chicken into bite-sized cubes. Return the cubed chicken to the pot. (Add the frozen peas [optional].) In a small bowl combine the flour and water to make a slurry, using a small whisk to get all of the lumps out, and mix it in the soup. Raise the heat to Medium High and let the soup simmer for a few more minutes to thicken up, stirring constantly. Turn off the heat when done and remove the bay leaves.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

For the pie crust:

Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Lightly flour your work-space. Roll each piece into a ball and then use a rolling pin to roll the crust into a circle large enough to overlap the tops of the custard cups and cover the pies.

To make the pot pies:

Spray the custard cups with non-stick cooking spray. Fill each with pot pie filling to within 1/2 inch from the top. Lay the pie crust round on top of the filling, flip over the edges, and press the dough to the sides of the custard cup to seal the crust. Cut a small slit in the top of each pie. Place the pies on a cookie sheet and bake them in the oven for 1 hour. Makes 4 individual chicken pot pies with left-over filling.

With the left-over filling, you can eat it by itself as a soup another time, or just re-heat it and serve it with the pot pies on the side for those who want more filling while they're eating their pies. When I make pot pies, I make 3 pot pies, and serve the left-over filling on the side.

Custard Pie with Berry Topping Recipe

My husband loves fruit tarts, so I made him one for his birthday last year using fresh berries from our garden. I made a custard pie filling with almond milk (back when Sam was drinking almond milk before her sensivity developed), my Vegan Shortbread pre-baked pie crust, and made a fresh berry topping with the blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries from our garden. It was an incredible birthday pie (we ate half of it in one sitting!) and he's requested it again this year. Unfortunately, only the strawberries are ready to pick right now from our garden this year, so I bought raspberries at a local farmer's market this time to go along with our strawberries. I also used cow's milk (1%) this time, so the recipe is versatile in that way. We love this pie!

Custard Pie with Berry Topping Recipe

For the pie crust:

1 Vegan Shortbread pre-baked pie crust

For the custard filling:

2 cups milk (any kind)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup unbleached flour
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 egg yolks (beaten)

In a small container, combine 1/2 cup of the milk with the flour to make a slurry. Use a small whisk to be sure to get all of the lumps out of the flour. In a medium sauce pan, use the whisk to combine the rest of the milk, the sugar, vanilla, beaten egg yolks, and the flour slurry. When well combined, turn on the heat to Medium. Stir with the whisk constantly for 10 minutes over Medium heat. The custard should start to thicken at this point. Turn the heat down to Low and slowly stir with the whisk for 5 more minutes. The custard should be a pudding consistency now. Remove from heat. Pour the custard into the pre-baked pie crust and let it cool for 10 minutes. Cut out a wax paper circle the size of the top of the pie and set it over the custard. Refrigerate for a couple of hours before adding the topping.

For the berry topping:

2 cups of a mixture of berries -OR- just one type of berry

Wash and dry the berries. For strawberries, cut them in half if they are small, and cut them in quarters if they are large. For raspberries, blackberries and blueberries, just keep them whole.

Remove the wax paper from the custard and spread out the berry mixture over the top of the set custard pie. Keep pie in the refrigerator until ready to serve.


Happy Birthday, Richard!