Vegan Pumpkin Pie

The year our family became vegan, I immediately began my quest to find a great pumpkin pie recipe. Thanksgiving was still a few months away, but I knew the lack of a dairy-and-egg-free version of our favorite dessert would derail any hopes of keeping the holiday vegan. My kids love,love,love pumpkin pie. And so began the Summer of 100 Awful Pies. Well, maybe not 100, but I baked enough terrible pastries to make us wonder if we ever wanted to eat pumpkin again. Our criteria for the perfect pie was that it had to be smooth and sturdy, not a goopy mess (as many were), with just the right amount of spice. So I baked pie after pie. Some were flavorful but pudding-like, some sturdy, but with way too much tofu and not enough pumpkin taste. In the end, not finding one we liked,we developed our own recipe. We took the best components from the non-vegan recipes we used to enjoy as omnivores and created this one. It's spicy, smooth, delicious, and slices beautifully. To help it retain its firmness, it's best served cold. We prefer pumpkin served chilled anyway so as not to have a pie which tastes too vegetably. Our family likes this recipe better than our old non-vegan one. And with  Vegan Whipped Cream, we don't miss the cool whip.

1 can(15 oz.) pumpkin(I prefer Libby's)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 package Mori-Nu Extra Firm Silken Tofu

1/2 cup unsweetened soy or almond milk

2 Tbsp. canola oil

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. table salt

1 & 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground allspice

Add ingredients one at time and blend in a food processor until smooth, scraping the sides of processor bowl with a rubber spatula between each addition. Make sure all the tofu is blended with no white bits remaining. For best flavor, cover and refrigerate pumpkin filling overnight.

Prepare one unbaked pie crust. I use the Classic Crisco Pie Crust. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Pour filling into pie crust. Use a pie crust shield or aluminum foil to keep the crust from browning too much. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until center is completely set.
Cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate until cold. Enjoy!

Vegan Brown Sugar Cinnamon Cookies

This recipe is a modified version of our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. I'm pretty sure the original chocolate chip version came from PETA, at least that's what I scribbled onto my recipe card years ago. One day, with a hankering for cookies, and no chocolate chips, I came up with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Cookies. It was a hit with the kids. In fact, my 19 year old, Ethan, says I found the bliss point.

1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 cup Earth Balance margarine
1 & 1/4 cups light brown sugar
2 Tablespoons almond milk, soy milk, or water
2 Tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 Tablespoons water
1 & 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 & 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 & 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment.
With a mixer, beat shortening, margarine, sugar, and almond milk until well combined. Add cornstarch mixture and mix until incorporated. Use a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl.
Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl, and then add to creamed mixture.
Mix on low speed until evenly moistened.
Drop rounded tablespoons of dough 3 inches apart on the parchment covered cookie sheet.
Bake for 8 to 11 minutes, until sides and top are just golden brown.(They will look very soft and under baked, but they will firm up as they cool.)
Leave cookies on baking sheet for 5 minutes, before moving them to a cooling rack.
This makes about 30 cookies.(fewer, if you eat as much cookie dough as I do)

Enjoy!