Dairy-Free Pumpkin Streusel Pie

When it comes to the holidays it is really hard to eat dairy-free.  Rolls, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, pies, cakes, cookies.  They all have dairy in them.  Every Thanksgiving I make a pumpkin pie.  Who doesn't?  I love, love, love Pumpkin Pie.  Well since giving up dairy the beginning of this year I've been dreading Thanksgiving.  How am I going to do a traditional Thanksgiving feast with no dairy whatsoever?!  I decided to start with a pie makeover.  I wanted to take my all time favorite pumpkin recipe and make it dairy free but I wanted every single person that ate it to have absolutely no clue in the world that it was missing all the cream and butter it normally has.  Well, I've done it.  I've knocked it out of the park and couldn't be happier!  My entire family absolutely loves it.  I think it is amazing and am thrilled with how it turned out!  My secret - silken tofu pureed in place of heavy cream! 
 

Pumpkin Struesel Pie

Pie Filling:
1 15oz. can pure pumpkin 

3 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1/3 c. firmly packed dark brown sugar

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

8 oz. silken tofu, drained

1 c. pure maple syrup

3 large eggs

Streusel Topping:

1 c. chopped pecans

1/2 c. firmly packed dark brown sugar

4 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

6 tbsp. unsalted dairy-free butter, very cold (I use organic Smart Balance Vegan Spread)

Combine the pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, flour and salt in a mixer with whisk attachment and beat until just combined.  In a blender add the silken tofu and maple syrup and puree until completely smooth.  Add the syrup tofu mixture into the pumpkin mixture and beat until well combined.  Stop and scrape down sides and add in eggs one at a time and beat until combined.  Pour into pie crust and bake 425 degrees for 15 minutes.  Then turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake another 35 minutes.  While it is baking combine all streusel ingredients in a bowl and use a fork or your hands and crumble it together until the butter is about the size of peas and almost all streusel mixture is sticky and crumbly.  Take pie out of oven and sprinkle streusel all over the top of it.  Place back in the oven for another 20 minutes.  Allow to cool completely before serving so pie has time to set.  The pie should still be a bit jiggly in the middle when you remove it and it will set as it cools.  A firm non-jiggly center means it is overcooked.     

Dairy-Free Pie Dough:

3 c. flour

2 tbsp. sugar

1/2 c. shortening
12 tbsp. non-dairy butter

1/2 c. ice cold water

Place the shortening in fridge ahead of time or freezer to get it nice and cold before you prepare the dough.  Dice the butter and place it back into the refrigerator. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the very cold butter and very cold shortening. Pulse a few times until the butter is bite size. Turn the machine on and slowly add the ice water down the feed tube until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out on a floured board and roll into a ball.  Divide and press into a flat circle and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll each piece on a well-floured board into a circle.  This makes 2 pie crusts.  The other can be refrigerated a few days or placed in the freezer for later use.  Make sure to spray your pie pan before rolling it out though to prevent it from sticking once it is baked.   

NOTE:  Organic Smart Balance Vegan Spread is like using salted butter.  So I opt to omit the salt from my pie recipe and the pie crust. 

Pumpkin Streusel Pie

It doesn't have to be Fall to have Pumpkin Pie.  Who doesn't love Pumpkin Pie!?  Actually I had an extra pie crust since my pie recipe makes 2 pie crusts and needed to figure out what I had in the house that I could make with only 1 stick of butter and no chocolate.  I always have canned pumpkin in my house because I use it in everything from pancakes, donuts to oatmeal.  Plus, I figure since the weather here in Washington is still freezing and we had snow just days ago I can still get away with making Fall/Winter favorites.  I've put my pie crust recipe after the pumpkin filling recipe.  You can always use a store bought crust as well. 


Pumpkin Streusel Pie

Pie Filling:
1 15oz. can pure pumpkin 

3 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1/3 c. firmly packed dark brown sugar

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. heavy cream

1 c. pure maple syrup

3 large eggs, beaten

Streusel Topping:

1 c. chopped pecans

1/2 c. firmly packed dark brown sugar

4 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

6 tbsp. unsalted butter, diced, cold 

Combine the pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, flour and salt in a mixer with whisk attachment and beat until just combined.  Add in cream and syrup and beat again.  Stop and scrape down sides and add in eggs and beat until combined.  Pour into pie crust and bake 425 degrees for 15 minutes.  Then turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake another 35 minutes.  While it is baking combine all streusel ingredients in a bowl and use a fork or your hands and crumble it together until the butter is about the size of peas and almost all streusel mixture is sticky and crumbly.  Take pie out of oven and sprinkle streusel all over the top of it.  Place back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes.  Allow to cool completely before serving so pie has time to set.     

Pie Dough:

3 c. flour

2 tbsp. sugar

1/2 c. shortening

1 1/2 (12 tbsp.) sticks butter

1 tsp. salt

1/2 c. ice cold water

Place the shortening in fridge ahead of time or freezer to get it nice and cold before you prepare the dough.  Dice the butter and place it to the refrigerator. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the very cold butter and very cold shortening. Pulse a few times until the butter is bite size. Turn the machine on and slowly add the ice water down the feed tube until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out on a floured board and roll into a ball.  Divide and press into a flat circle and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll each piece on a well-floured board into a circle.  This makes 2 pie crusts.  The other can be refrigerated a few days or placed in the freezer for later use.  Make sure to spray your pie pan before rolling it out though to prevent it from sticking once it is baked.   

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Brownie Fudge Pie

I love pie crust and my husband and daughter both love brownies.  So I decided to just combine my two recipes really to make a brownie pie. I make my own crust but of course you could always use store bought.  






This recipe can be done a few different ways.  You can swirl in peanut butter by dropping a few spoonfuls then swirling with a butter knife.  You can add some sort of chips, like chocolate or peanut butter chips too if you like em'.  I prefer to slightly under cook the brownie filling and let it sit and cool completely before eating.  That way it is very rich and like eating fudge.  I made this pie after dinner last night and woke up this morning to find that someone had gotten into it overnight.  Apparently waiting until it cooled completely was too much to ask of my husband and he ate it before it was ready.  So I didn't get my picture of the whole finished pie untouched just with a big slice missing!  I've been using this pie crust recipe for a while now and have had great results. 

Pie Dough:

3 c. flour

2 tbsp. sugar

1/2 c. shortening

1 1/2 (12 tbsp.) sticks butter

1 tsp. salt

1/2 c. ice cold water

Place the shortening in fridge ahead of time or freezer to get it nice and cold before you prepare the dough.  Dice the butter and place it to the refrigerator. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the very cold butter and very cold shortening. Pulse a few times until the butter is bitesize. Turn the machine on and slowly add the ice water down the feed tube until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out on a floured board and roll into a ball.  Divide and press into a flat circle and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll each piece on a well-floured board into a circle.  This makes 2 pie crusts.  The other can be refrigerated a few days or placed in the freezer for later use.  I always spray my pie pan with something like Pam to make sure I can get the crust off the pie pan when it comes slicing time.  Now it is time to blind bake (pre-bake) the dough.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place aluminum foil inside of the dough with dried beans or pie weight on foil to prevent dough from getting bubbles.  Bake about 15 minutes.     

Brownie Filling:

2 sticks unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 tbsp. decaf coffee

Kid Tested & Approved!

Adjust oven temp. to 350 degrees. Melt the 2 sticks of butter in a nonstick saucepan over medium-low heat. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Add the sugar, coffee, eggs and vanilla to the saucepan and stir until combined.  I use leftover coffee from my morning but you can add instant coffee instead if you have it.  Add the cocoa, flour, salt and baking powder and whisk, then add chocolate chips and whisk until smooth (but try not to over mix it). Pour into pie crust.  

Now here are the different things you can do.  If you want it fudgy bake uncovered for 30 minutes.  Take out of the oven and let cool slightly until room temp.  Then place in fridge until set.  I serve mine with homemade whip cream.  You can serve with ice cream if you rather.  You can bake it longer, about 45-55 minutes for less fudgy,more brownie like pie.  This way can be served warm.  Just let cool about 10 minutes.  To test if it is done insert knife and see if it comes out clean.  That doesn't apply to the fudgy pie only the more cooked one.  

Whip Cream Recipe:

1 c. heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 c. powdered sugar


I like to use my KitchenAid Mixer for this recipe so I don't have to do much.  I stick the bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer before I make it to get best results but it isn't necessary.  Add heavy whipping cream to bowl and turn on a medium or medium high and let whip until nice and fluffy.  Turn off and add vanilla and powdered sugar and turn on low to allow to combine.   Taste it and add more sugar if you need to.  This is super easy and you'll never want store bought whip cream again!  Add a bit of cocoa for chocolate whip cream or cinnamon for cinnamon whip cream.  YUM!