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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

Pumpkin Coffee Chocolate Chip Muffins

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So I’ve been meaning to make a pumpkin quick bread for quite a while now, but then Halloween came and went and I was afraid everybody would be over pumpkin. Well, turns out, people are still totally into pumpkin leading up to Thanksgiving, too! Unlike gingerbread or peppermint, pumpkin basically has two holidays. Good news for me!

When Nathan started talking about a coffee pumpkin bread that he used to bake (complete with tons of sugar + milk-filled butterscotch chips) I knew I wanted to tackle a recipe for dairy-free, healthier Pumpkin Coffee Muffins. I decided to add chocolate chips – no one is surprised – because there’s nothing better than biting into a warm, freshly baked muffin loaded with melted chocolate! I’ve been craving that exact bite for over a week, and these muffins did not disappoint. We all love them, including my toddler who couldn’t get enough. I just might be adding these to the Thanksgiving playlist.

Pumpkin Coffee Chocolate Chip Muffins
Makes 9 regular muffins

1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, room temp
2 Tbsp instant coffee granules
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, room temp
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup chocolate chips + 1/4 cup for topping
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

1.) Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare your muffin pan – spray with olive oil or line with paper liners. Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for ~10 minutes.

2.) In a medium bowl, mix the almond milk and instant coffee until granules have dissolved. Whisk in the coconut sugar, coconut oil, vanilla, and eggs until totally combined. Whisk in the pumpkin until smooth.

3.) In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Whisk in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. Add the pumpkin coffee mixture and gently mix until no flour pockets remain.

4.) Divide your batter into nine regular muffins, filling the muffin pan nearly to the top. Top with chocolate chips, pressing them slightly into the batter. Bake at 350°F for 18-24 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean – you’ll have to prick around the melty chocolate chips.

5.) Allow your muffins to cool for 10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Enjoy warm!

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

Vegan Pumpkin Butter Sweet Rolls

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When I set out to make homemade pumpkin butter I knew I needed to make a sweet roll with the stuff. If you’ve never had pumpkin butter before, it’s a delicious spread made with pumpkin, sugar, and spices – the same ones you’d find in a pumpkin pie. And it is good. These sweet rolls are slightly spiced, filled with pumpkin butter and coconut sugar, and then topped with a pumpkin spice glaze! They’re the perfect fall roll. And also, my toddler can’t get enough, so I think it’s safe to say that even if you’re not that into pumpkin, there’s a good chance you’ll still find these delicious.

Yeasted breads can be intimidating. And time consuming. What I love about this dough is that it uses instant rise yeast, so you only have to proof it once! That cuts back on a lot of the time it usually takes to make homemade sweet rolls. When I made these rolls, we were staying away from home, which means I didn’t have my regular kitchen – or regular supplies. I threw this dough together in a makeshift bowl (read: rectangular disposable container), kneaded it by hand, and rolled it out using a plastic cup. So I’m confident that you can make this recipe work for you!

The pumpkin butter filling and glaze are both super simple. You’ll basically throw some ingredients into a pot or bowl and stir. Don’t be afraid to play around with your spices – adding or subtracting what you are or aren’t fond of! I tend to like more spice, so you can always start with less. Happy baking, friends! I hope you love these rolls as much as we do!

Vegan Pumpkin Butter Sweet Rolls
Makes 8-10 rolls

Dough
1 packet instant rise yeast
1 cup warm water
3 1/2 cups bread flour
2 Tbsp coconut sugar
1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3 Tbsp olive oil
Filling
~3/4 cup pumpkin butter (see recipe below!)
3 Tbsp coconut sugar
Pumpkin Spice Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp almond milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves

1.) Preheat your oven to 200°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the packet of yeast to 1 cup of warm water and let sit for 5 minutes. Your water shouldn’t be anywhere near boiling, or your yeast will die. At the end of five minutes your yeast should be a bit foamy.

2.) Make the dough: in a stand mixer bowl*, use a dough hook to mix together the flour, coconut sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. With the mixer on low, add the olive oil and warm water/yeast. Mix at low speed for 1 minute and then at medium speed until dough comes together. Hand knead your dough until it’s smooth and springs back when you press a finger into it, adding a bit more room temp water or flour if your dough is dry or sticky.

3.) Assemble the rolls: on a lightly floured surface, or piece of parchment paper, roll your dough into a rectangle roughly 12×16″. Spread 3/4 cup of your pumpkin butter over the dough and then sprinkle with 3 Tbsp coconut sugar. Carefully roll your dough, beginning on one of the long sides. The pumpkin butter will want to ooze out, so do your best to roll slowly and keep it in. When you get near the end, pick up the bottom and fold it up and over (I found this helped keep the pumpkin butter in). Use a string or piece of floss to cut your rolls about 1 1/2″. Arrange your rolls on your parchment-lined baking sheet, oozing side up, and then spread more apple butter over the tops.

4.) Proof and bake: cover your rolls loosely with plastic wrap (to keep moisture in) and proof them in the oven at 200°F for 15-20 minutes or until they’ve doubled in size. Remove from the oven and preheat your oven to 400°F. Take the plastic wrap off and bake your rolls at 400°F for 13-18 minutes, or until golden brown.

5.) Make the glaze: in a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, spices, vanilla extract, and 1/2 Tbsp of the almond milk. Add more milk to get the right consistency. You want it thick enough that when you drizzle it holds shape for a couple of seconds. Spoon or spread the glaze over your rolls (I spooned mine on in a circular, spiral motion). The glaze may seem too thick at first, but it will continuing to slowly spread over and down the sides of your rolls.

*if you don’t have a stand mixer, the original recipe calls for using a hand mixer. I made these rolls using a fork to whisk the dry ingredients and then my hands to bring the dough together and knead.

Recipe adapted from the Southern Living Party Cookbook (2006) page 61

Pumpkin Butter
(makes ~2 cups)
1 15 oz can pumpkin
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup coconut sugar or white/brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

1.) Add all of the ingredients to a small saucepan and bring to a slight boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Allow your pumpkin butter to cool, and store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Recipe adapted from allrecipes

Dairy-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

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These cookies are everything you want in a pumpkin cookie! The dough is loaded with all of the familiar pumpkin pie spices and juuust the right amount of pumpkin puree. And then, of course, I couldn’t resist adding chocolate chips! This dough doesn’t need to be chilled, so the cookies are ready to bake as soon as you whip them up! I used a wooden spoon for the whole mixing process, and then I let the flavors really come to life by refrigerating my dough overnight. It’s important to allow your dough to come back to room temp if you decide to chill it, or else your cookies will not spread enough. Happy baking!

Dairy-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes ~14 cookies

1/2 cup coconut oil, solid
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1 large egg yolk, room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips + more for topping dough balls

1.) Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.) In a large bowl, cream together the solid coconut oil and coconut sugar. Beat or stir in the egg and vanilla extract until well combined. Next, add the pumpkin puree and stir until combined; set aside.

3.) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until just combined. Add your chocolate chips and stir until the dough is well mixed.

4.) Roll dough into 2 Tbsp-size balls. Press chocolate chips into the tops of each dough ball and place 2″ apart on your parchment-lined baking sheet. Slightly press down each dough ball. Bake at 350°F for 8 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Live Well Bake Often