Mini Pumpkin Pies

Not only are these little pumpkin pies creamy, flavorful, and perfectly spiced, they are also gluten- and refined sugar free. And yes, of course they are vegan. That’s right, no eggs, no dairy, and you won’t miss a thing! With only wholesome ingredients being added, you can truly say that this is a healthy dessert on your festive dinner table, but beware – once you get started your tastebuds will go into celebration mode and crave more!

You will need:

• a high speed blender

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 heaping Tbsp ground flaxseed
• 4 Tbsp filtered water
• 9.5 oz (270 g) pecans
• 5.3 oz (150 g) pitted, dried dates
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt
• 5 Tbsp unsweetened, shredded coconut
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves

For the filling:

• 1 cup (140 g) cashews, soaked overnight or for at least 3 hours
• 4 oz (115 g) pitted, dried dates
• 1 cup (240 ml) filtered water
• one 15 oz (425 g) can pumpkin puree
• 1/8 tsp five spice powder
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp Celtic sea salt
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves

For work surface and the final touch:

• unsweetened, shredded coconut

To grease muffin pan:

• coconut oil

Preparation:

Make a flax egg by mixing 1 heaping Tbsp ground flaxseed with 4 Tbsp of water, and let sit for a few minutes.

Grease the muffin pan for 12 mini pies.

For the crust, you can use a food processor to pulse the pecans into a rather coarse meal. I used the chopper attachment of my hand blender, and it worked just fine. Make sure not to over-process (see * in notes!!!). Place ground pecans into a medium size bowl, and process the dates the same way until they form a sticky ball. Place them into the bowl with the pecans. Add the remaining crust ingredients, including the “flax egg”, and knead thoroughly with your hands until you have a sticky but firm dough. Let it chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare your filling:

Drain and rinse cashews, then place them into your high speed blender. Add dates and water, and blend at high speed for about 2 minutes. Scrape the cashew/date cream into a medium size saucepan, add all the remaining ingredients for the filling, and put on medium heat. Bring the cream to a boil while stirring continuously. Reduce heat just a little to keep it from splattering, and continue to stir for about 2 minutes. It should be a nice thick cream by now. Turn off heat and tend to the crust.

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).

Sprinkle coconut shreds on your work surface so the dough won’t stick to it. Here are 2 ways to get the dough into the muffin molds:

(1) You can either roll out the dough a little bit more than a quarter inch (about 1 cm) thick and cut out 12 circles with the rim of a cup or large glass that are slightly bigger than the molds of the cupcake pan. Cut out an equal amount of leaf- or pumpkin shapes with a cookie cutter, or simply shape with your fingers. Use up all the dough by kneading, rolling, and cutting out again. If you have extra dough, make some extra leaves. Carefully transfer the circles into the molds, and reshape them with your fingers. They should go all the way up the sides. Spoon the filling into the molds, and put the leaves on top.

(2) Since I like to shape and mold with my fingers, this is my way of handling the crust. First, roll out less than 1/4 of the dough a little bit more than a quarter inch (about 1 cm) thick, then cut out 12 leaves. Equally distribute the rest of the dough between the 12 muffin molds. Press the dough firmly down with your fingers and shape a crust that goes all the way up the sides. If you had too much dough for the molds, just make some extra leaves. Spoon the filling into the molds, and put the leaves on top.

Bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 20 minutes. Keep checking on your pies. The crust shouldn’t turn dark. If it does, put some aluminum foil on top for the remaining time.

Sprinkle more shredded coconut on top, let your pumpkin pies cool down, then keep them chilled in the fridge! It takes them about 2 hours to set. Enjoy!

Notes:

• (*) Don’t make the same mistake I made in my first test run with this kind of dough! I put all the crust ingredients into my high speed blender. Even though I only blended at medium speed, the result was a mess. The oils from the pecans separated and made the dough unmanageable. Pecans need to be chopped separately at a lower speed!
• Coconut whipped cream as a topping or on the side might be a wonderful, rich addition.
• I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t be able to make a full size pie with this recipe. Maybe add 10 more minutes, covered with foil, in the oven and let chill a little longer.