My mom is THE pie lady and I aspire to create pies that are as perfect as hers. This task falls to me more often now that I adhere to a dairy free lifestyle and I want to be able to eat pie. This year I decided to try both a dairy free pumpkin pie and a dairy free pecan pie.
I was a little nervous about finding a recipe that would produce the ideal pumpkin pie texture since my sweet hubby is a pie snob. (I say that with love.) Every year he reminisces about the year that he purchased a store bought pumpkin pie with disastrous results. His ideal pumpkin pie has a "tight" texture and he considers my mom's pie to be the height of the pumpkin pie experience.
My inspiration for the pumpkin pie came from one of my sister's good friends. She highly recommended Alisa Cooks "Dairy Free, Soy Free, Pumpkin Pie Perfection." See the original recipe here: http://www.onefrugalfoodie.com/2009/11/05/dairy-free-soy-free-pumpkin-pie/
Thankfully, this pie is appropriately titled Pumpkin Pie Perfection and so it was. Hubby says: "your mom better watch her back." The only change I made was to swap out the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg/allspice and cloves for 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice (my favorite is from the Savory Spice Shop).
I also used my mom's crust recipe, see below.
PATTY ANN'S PERFECT PIE CRUST
Makes 2; 10 inch crusts {I used one for the pumpkin pie and one for the pecan pie}
- 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup shortening (I like Spectrum Organic)
- 1 tsp salt
- 7-8 tbs ice water (may need more if the air is dry)
Combine the flour and salt. Using a pastry blender or two knives cut the shortening into the flour until it is the size of peas. Slowly add 2-3 tbs of water at a time until the dough starts to pull together.
Divide the dough in half and using plastic wrap pull the dough into a circle. Roll out to 10 inch diameter, place in pie plate and chill until filling.
My second pie endeavor was to create a pecan pie. I really enjoy pecan pie so I was the critic this time. I'm not a big fan of the overly sweet pecan pie, so after scavenging the world wide web for a dairy free recipe I ended up adapting my mom's recipe; which was SURPRISINGLY easy.
PATTY ANN'S PECAN PIE (with dairy free adaptation)
Makes 1; 9 inch pie
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbs Soy Free Earth Balance Vegan Spread (melted)
- 2 cups pecans (chopped)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine the corn syrup and sugar. In a separate bowl beat the eggs and vanilla and add to the sugar mixture. Mix in the melted butter and add pecans. Pour into the unbaked pie crust and bake for 60 to 70 minutes. Cool 2 hours before serving.
Both pies turned out beautifully and I will be proud to share them with friends and family this holiday season!
Happy Thanksgiving to all, and to all a good PIE!
Peace,
Laura
