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Dairy-Free Mini Pumpkin Pies with Walnut Crust

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Last year’s Thanksgiving morning was chaotic. It was my first Thanksgiving on a dairy-free diet, and I was in charge of desserts. All of the desserts. I believe I made a batch of chocolate chunk cookies and four different pies, including a vegan pumpkin pie and the Meta Given’s Pumpkin Pie from Food52. It was also my first attempt at making coconut whipped cream. I didn’t have a stand mixer and my mom had to rush to the store to buy more coconut cream after so many failed attempts. In the end, we were the last to arrive, and, in a panic, we had bought Cool Whip for everyone else.
Of course I had to taste test everything I baked, and I remember the Meta Given’s pie being delicious. This year, a couple of you requested I create a pumpkin pie, so I set out to make some mini pies using my own Walnut Crust recipe and following along with the Meta Given’s filling recipe. I opted for a mix of extra thick coconut cream and almond milk. I’m so happy with how these came out! Nathan and I had to refrain from eating more than one before I got photos.
I know pumpkin pies can be tricky. The key things to remember for this recipe are to make sure your crusts are cold before you add your filling, cook your pies just until the very middle is still jiggly, and let them cool completely at room temp (or somewhere warm). I put mine in the refrigerator before going to bed, and the filling pulled away from the crust since they weren’t totally cool yet. But these mini pies totally hit the spot, and you won’t even be able to tell that they’re dairy-free!
Dairy-Free Mini Pumpkin Pies with Walnut Crust
Makes 12 mini pies (in a standard muffin pan)
Crust
1/3 cup walnut halves & pieces
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
3/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 cup coconut oil, solid
3-5 Tbsp ice cold water
Filling
1 can pumpkin purée
1/2 cup coconut sugar or white/brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
2 large eggs
1 cup coconut cream
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1.) Make the crust: in a blender or food processor, blend the walnuts. Add the flour, dark brown sugar, and salt. Blend until walnuts turn into fine crumbs. Add the solid coconut oil and blend until combined. Add 2 Tbsp ice cold water and blend. Add water by the Tbsp until dough comes together – it will still look crumbly but will smash together into a dough between your fingers. Form dough into a ball, flatten to a disc shape, and wrap in plastic or parchment paper. Refrigerate until stiff enough to roll out.
2.) Roll your crust between two pieces of parchment paper or on a lightly floured surface to 1/8″ thick. If it softens up a lot after rolling, you can put it back in the refrigerator for a few minutes. Cut circles roughly 4-4 1/2 inches in diameter (or whatever size works for your muffin pan). Place your crust circles into your muffin pan – no need to spray or line – pressing the folds against the sides. Refrigerate the crusts while you make your filling. Preheat your oven to 400°F.
3.) Make the filling: add your pumpkin to a small saucepan over medium/low heat, stirring frequently for 5-10 minutes or until pumpkin begins to dry out a bit and caramelize. Add the coconut sugar, maple syrup, spices, and salt. Remove from heat, transfer to a large bowl, and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Whisk in the coconut cream – be sure to shake your can!* – and almond milk. Slowly add the egg/milk mixture to your pumpkin, whisking as your pour.
4.) Pour the filing into the refrigerated crusts – no need to prick or pre-bake your crusts – filling nearly to the top. Bake at 400°F for 15-25 minutes or until the middle of your pies are slightly jiggly. Allow your pies to cool in the pan for 10-20 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Let your pies cool completely before refrigerating any leftovers – as your pie cools, it’s natural for the crust and filling to separate. Sticking warm pies in the refrigerator will cause greater cracks (yep, I did this).
5.) For the crust leaves: make an extra Walnut Crust, roll to 1/4″ thick, and use a cookie/pie crust press to cut leaves. Arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 350°F for ~15 minutes. Arrange on top of baked pies. OR place unbaked leaves on top of unbaked pies, continue with step 4 above.
*if your coconut cream is still chunky, measure out what you need and pop it into the microwave for 15-30 seconds until the chunks have melted
Recipe adapted from Meta Given’s Pumpkin Pie

Vegan Pumpkin Butter Poptarts

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I can’t think of a single person whose face doesn’t light up at the sight of homemade poptarts. I mean, they’re a delicious, flakey pastry stuffed with sweet goodness and topped with glaze (and sometimes sprinkles)! And for a lot of us, they remind us of our childhood. Or, in my case, teenagehood, because let’s not pretend that I didn’t buy poptarts out of the school vending machine way too often well into my teen years.
For me, homemade poptarts far outweigh their thin, store-bought counterparts. And these Vegan Pumpkin Butter Poptarts are filled with a delicious, and easy, homemade pumpkin butter and then topped with a sweet maple syrup and cinnamon glaze! I’m not sure there’s anything not to like!
Homemade poptarts do take a bit of time and effort. But you can make the pumpkin butter ahead of time, or even by a jar from the store. The crust is pretty straightforward, so I think the hardest part is deciding what size to make your poptarts! You can go with a standard size, mini, or even one giant one! Have fun with this recipe, and make it your own. Don’t like pumpkin? Try apple butter or apple jam. Either of those options would make a delicious filling! Happy baking!
Vegan Pumpkin Butter Poptarts with Maple Glaze
Makes ~8 3×4″ poptarts
Crust
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp coconut sugar
1 tsp fine sea salt
3/4 cup coconut oil, solid
6-10 Tbsp ice cold water
Pumpkin Butter
1 15oz can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup coconut sugar or granulated/brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
Maple Glaze
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup
1/2 Tbsp almond milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Other
1 Tbsp unsweetened almond milk (to seal the poptarts)
1.) Make the pumpkin butter: add all ingredients to a sauce pan and bring to a slight boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring often. You will have a lot leftover, so refrigerate what you don’t use (which will be most of it!) or make my Vegan Pumpkin Butter Sweet Rolls.
2.) Make the crust: add the flour, coconut sugar, and salt to a blender or food processor and give the ingredients a quick blend. Add the solid coconut oil and blend until combined, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add 4 Tbsp of ice cold water and blend. Keep adding water by the Tbsp until your dough comes together. Scoop your dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and shape into two balls. Wrap each dough ball in plastic and flatten to a disc shape. Refrigerate until firm enough to roll out, usually around 15 minutes.
3.) Cut out the poptarts: roll your dough between two pieces of parchment paper (or on a lightly floured surface) to ~1/8″ thick. You’ll want to roll each disc into somewhat of a rectangle. Begin cutting out your poptarts by trimming the sides of your rectangle. Then, you can cut even rectangles from your crust. I made my poptarts roughly 3×4″. Refrigerate your rectangles for 5-10 minutes.
4.) Assemble the poptarts: remove your rectangles from the refrigerator and spoon pumpkin butter on half of them, making sure to leave 1/4″ of an empty border around each one. The amount of filling will depend on your poptart size; I added 1-2 tsp of pumpkin butter to each of my poptarts. Brush almond milk around the edge of all bottom rectangles. Place top rectangles on the bottoms and use a fork to press the sides together. Refrigerate for another 20 minutes + preheat your oven to 375°F.
5.) After 20 minutes, remove your assembled poptarts from the refrigerator and poke holes in the top. I did a single fork prick right in the middle of each poptart. Bake at 375°F for 15-20 minutes or until crust is slightly golden. Allow your poptarts to cool (or eat them warm!).
6.) Make the glaze: in a small bowl, combine the glaze ingredients. You want your glaze to be pretty thick so it doesn’t run off of your poptarts – unless that’s the look you want! Add more powdered sugar if it’s too thin and a little almond milk if it’s too thick. Spread your glaze over each poptart. It won’t look perfect at first, but once it settles and spreads a bit, it will smooth out. Enjoy your poptarts at room temp or heated up!
Pumpkin Butter recipe adapted from allrecipes

Chai-Spiced Apple Hand Pies

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There’s something about Autumn and the approaching holiday season that puts me in an even greater mood to bake. After making homemade apple butter, I really wanted to incorporate more apples and spice into another dessert. I’ve made hand pies before, and I think they’re just such a fun, little treat. I love chai spice and the added cardamom, so I decided to toss some diced apples in a chai spice mix and throw them into a batch of gorgeous, perfect-for-fall hand pies! I added a thin cardamom glaze to the tops of each pie to give them some extra pretty. And because those processed pies I ate as kid were covered in a glossy, yummy glaze – so, ya know, nostalgia.

The crust recipe makes 5 hand pies but could easily be doubled to make 10. With the filling recipe, you’ll have quite a bit leftover to use however you please – I happily topped my morning oats with my leftovers! – so if you want to make 10 hand pies, you can leave the filling recipe as-is. It’s important to heat your glaze a bit for this recipe as that will allow the glaze to really set and harden on your pies! Happy baking!

 

Chai-Spiced Apple Hand Pies
Makes 5 hand pies

Crust
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour OR all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp coconut sugar
3/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 cup coconut oil, solid
2-5 Tbsp ice cold water
Filling
4 apples
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
Pinch black pepper
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp cup coconut sugar
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice (optional)
Egg Wash
1 large egg, beaten
Cardamom Glaze
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp cardamom
1/2 – 2 Tbsp unsweetened almond milk

1.) Prepare dough by pulsing the flour, coconut sugar, and salt in a blender or food processor. Add the solid coconut oil and pulse. Add 2 Tbsp of ice cold water and blend. Continue adding 1 Tbsp of ice cold water until the dough comes together. Dump the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and divide into five equal dough balls. Cover and wrap each dough ball separately, flattening them to a disc shape. Refrigerate the dough while you make the filling*.

2.) Peel, core, and dice your apples. Add them to a medium bowl and toss with the remaining filling ingredients – cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, black pepper, vanilla, coconut sugar, and lemon juice. Heat apple mixture in a pan over medium-low heat until almost totally soft, making sure to not let your apples get too dry (you can add a bit of water to the pan if needed).

3.) Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out your dough into a 6 inch circle – I like to roll mine between two pieces of parchment paper for easy cleanup. Brush egg wash around the inner edge of the circle and spoon ~1/4 cup of filling onto one side. Fold over the other side of the circle and press the edges together. Fold your edges up and in, making sure there are no holes and the edge is totally sealed. Transfer hand pie to baking sheet. Repeat until you’ve assembled all 5 pies.

4.) Brush your egg wash over the top of all 5 five pies. Cut three vents into the top of each pie. Bake at 350°F for ~15 minutes or until you hear the filling bubbling. Your crust might stay quite light in color, so be sure not to over bake your pies.

5.) While your pies are cooling, you can make your glaze. In a small sauce pan, add the powdered sugar, vanilla, cardamom, and 1/2 Tbsp of almond milk. Stir until combined, cooking on low heat. Add more almond milk until the glaze is thin enough to spoon over your hand pies. Once the glaze is warm to the touch, generously (and quickly**) spoon the glaze over each pie.

*the dough can be made ahead of time, but you will need to let it rest at room temperature for a while before it will soften enough to roll out

**the glaze will set quickly since it’s been heated up

Crust recipe adapted from Food with Feeling

Cherry Galette with Walnut Cacao Crust

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An easy and dairy-free cherry galette with a nutty, chocolatey crust to redeem any ill-will toward chocolate + cherry. Oh. Is that just me? As a kid I hated those bright red, chocolate-covered cherries with the white goo. You know, the ones popular with our parents or grandparents around Christmas time? Well, we alway had a couple of boxes laying around for the holidays, because my dad loves them. For the longest time, I wouldn’t go near anything chocolate + cherry, because omg remember those boxed cherries?! It wasn’t until I was well into adulthood that I gave chocolate cherry ice cream a taste, and my heart freaking sang. That stuff is good.

When I saw chocolate cherry galettes trending a bit on Instagram, I knew I wanted to take my galette recipe and turn it into a warm, chocolatey dessert bursting with one of my favorite summer fruits. The filling is very simple, and I promise that the hardest part is pitting the cherries. If you don’t have walnuts on hand, you can simply use another 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour, and, as always, regular cocoa powder will work just fine if you don’t have cacao powder. The chocolate drizzle is optional but will take your galette to a whole nother level of chocolate cherry goodness, and who doesn’t want that?! (it’s okay if you don’t want that)

Galettes are meant to look rustic, so don’t stress about rolling out a perfect circle or getting the edges tidy and clean. Your folds can be a bit hasty, too, but if the crust begins to split, be sure to pinch it back together – use a little water if you need to – so your filling stays put. Happy baking!

Cherry Galette with Walnut Cacao Crust

Crust
1/3 cup walnuts
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp cacao powder
2 Tbsp coconut sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup coconut oil, solid
~5 Tbsp ice cold water
Filling
2 cups fresh cherries, pitted and halved
1 1/2 Tbsp tapioca starch/flour (or 3/4 Tbsp corn starch)
2 Tbsp coconut sugar
Egg Wash
1 large egg, beaten
Chocolate Drizzle
3 Tbsp dairy-free chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
1 tsp coconut oil

1.) Add walnuts, flour, cacao powder, coconut sugar, and salt to a food processor or blender and blend until walnuts have turned to fine crumbs. Add solid coconut oil and blend until combined. Add 2 Tbsp of ice water and blend. Continue adding ice water by 1 Tbsp until dough comes together and looks quite sticky. I found that adding the cacao powder makes the dough look ready when it’s not (i.e. it looks wet enough but dries out by the time I roll it out). I ended up adding about 5 Tbsp of ice water.

2.) Scoop dough out onto plastic wrap, shape into a ball, wrap, and flatten to a disc shape. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until solid enough to roll out.

3.) Preheat oven to 375°. On a large piece of parchment paper, roll dough out into a large circle about 1/8 – 1/4” thick. Use a little flour to keep the dough from sticking to your rolling pin. If your circle looks more like a rectangle, that’s okay.

4.) In a medium bowl, mix cherries with tapioca starch and coconut sugar. Scoop mixture onto your rolled out crust, being sure to leave ~1 1/2” of bare crust around the edge. Pour any leftover liquid over the cherries.

5.) Brush the exposed crust edge with egg wash and fold edge over the cherries, going around until all of the edge has been folded over (don’t worry about it being perfect!). If your crust breaks open, gently pinch it back together with your fingers, using water to help smooth it together if you need to. Egg wash the top of the crust and sprinkle with a bit of coconut sugar (optional).

6.) Gently transfer parchment paper/galette to a baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 20-30 minutes or until fruit is bubbling. Allow to cool to desired temp before serving. Just before serving, melt your chocolate chips and coconut oil together. Drizzle chocolate mixture over your galette. Top with your favorite ice cream and enjoy!

  

Dairy-free Blueberry Hazelnut Galette

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I’ve always seen galettes as the cooler, more sophisticated older sister to a traditional fruit pie. I’ve been ogling them for so long it’s embarrassing, so I’m thrilled to report (after making my first galette!) that they are actually easy to throw together! Seriously. Galettes are so much easer than making a double crust fruit pie. And with their exposed fruit and rustic look, they’re just as enticing for any pie lover! Since rustic is the name of the game, you don’t even really have to worry about making them pretty!

For this Blueberry Galette, you’ll whip up the dough in a food processor or blender, mix your berries with a few ingredients, and build your galette by wrapping the dough up and over the filling – that’s it! You don’t have to make a pretty border, cut a lattice, or worry about perfectly positioning a top crust. You just fold the dough right over, making sure to smooth together any tears and voilà! You have a beautiful dessert reminiscent of homemade pie but with half the work!

Dairy-Free Blueberry Hazelnut Galette
Serves 6-8

Crust
1/3 cup hazelnuts (with skin on)
1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp coconut sugar
3/4 tsp fine sea salt or table salt
1/2 cup coconut oil, solid
~5 Tbsp ice cold water
Filling
2 cups fresh* blueberries, rinsed and dried
1 1/2 Tbsp tapioca starch/flour (or 3/4 Tbsp corn starch)
2 Tbsp coconut sugar
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Egg Wash
1 large egg, beaten

1.) Add hazelnuts, flour, salt, and coconut sugar to a food processor or blender and blend until hazelnuts are ground to a fine meal. Add the solid coconut oil and blend until combined. Add 2 Tbsp of ice water and blend, scraping down the sides as necessary. Continue adding ice water 1 Tbsp at a time until dough comes together (I ended up adding about 5 1/2 Tbsp of ice water).

2.) Dump the dough onto a piece of plastic and shape into a ball. Wrap dough ball in the plastic and flatten to a disc shape. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or until firm enough to roll out.

3.) Preheat your oven to 375°F. In a medium bowl, mix the blueberries with the tapioca starch, coconut sugar, and lemon juice; set aside.

4.) On a piece of parchment paper, roll your chilled dough out into a large circle about 1/8 – 1/4” thick (it can be a bit rectangular, too!). Use a little flour to keep the dough from sticking to your rolling pin. Pour blueberry mixture onto the middle of your rolled out crust, leaving ~1 1/2” of exposed crust at the edge for folding. Pour any extra liquid over the blueberries.

5.) Brush the exposed crust edge with the whisked egg and begin folding the entire edge over the blueberries. Work your way around the galette until you’ve folded it all up (don’t worry about it being perfect!), making sure to seal any holes or tears. Brush the top of the crust with egg and sprinkle with a bit of coconut sugar (optional).

6.) Gently transfer your galette (with the parchment paper) onto a baking sheet. Bake at 375°F for around 20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. Let your galette cool a bit before topping it with your favorite ice cream. Slice and enjoy! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.