Many of our favorite recipes take a DIY approach—and these beautiful pies are no exception! Each one starts with a delicious gluten-free almond-oat crust that’s loaded with healthy protein and fiber. From there, make it your own with a choice of three fillings: classic Pumpkin Spice, Chocolate, and Apple Pear Cardamom. Each variation features just a touch of natural sweeteners, which means your blood sugar won’t spike, crash, and send you into a food coma. And because each recipe uses the same basic crust, it’s easy to whip up all three variations and please everyone at the holiday table.
Crust Ingredients (makes one 9-inch pie)
1 c. oats
1 c. almonds
⅓ c. coconut oil
¼ c. maple syrup
½ tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. cardamom
Instructions
1. To make the crust, add almonds to a food processor and pulse until it becomes a coarse meal. Add remaining crust ingredients and pulse together until oats are coarsely ground and mixture is thoroughly combined.
2. Using your hands, spread and press the crust mixture into a 9-inch tart pan, working the dough up the sides. Set aside.
**Note: for the apple pear cardamom tart, spread ¾ of the crust recipe in the pan, reserving ¼ of the crust mixture for a crumble topping.
Spiced Pumpkin Pie
DF*optional, GF, contains eggs
Ingredients
1 Prepared Pie Crust (see above)
1 15 oz. can organic pumpkin puree
¾ c. maple syrup
2 large eggs, beaten (*for egg substitute, whisk 1 Tbsp ground flax or chia seeds with 3 Tbsp water)
1 ½ Tbs. arrowroot powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. ginger
¼ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cloves
½ tsp. sea salt
1 c. whole milk, almond milk or full fat coconut milk
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
1. Make the crust as directed above.
2. In a small bowl, combine arrowroot, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and sea salt. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs or flax/chia substitute, pumpkin puree, maple syrup and spice mixture until well blended. Gradually stir in milk.
3. Pour the filling into the prepared crust and place in oven. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 40-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature on a cooling rack for 2 hours or until ready to serve.
4. To serve, carefully remove outer shell of tart pan, slice, top with whipped coconut cream and enjoy!
Whipped Vanilla Coconut Cream:
Place metal bowl in freezer for 10 minutes. Remove from freezer and add 1 c. coconut milk and 1 Tbs. coconut sugar and 1 tsp. bourbon vanilla bean paste. Whisk on high with a handheld mixer until stiff peaks begin to form.
Chocolate Pie:
DF, GF, contains eggs
Ingredients
1 Prepared Pie Crust (see above)
4 Tbs. coconut oil
1 ½ oz. bittersweet chocolate
1 ½ c. coconut sugar or maple syrup
1 Tbs. cacao powder
½ tsp. sea salt
½ c. full fat coconut milk
2 large eggs, beaten (*for egg substitute, whisk 1 Tbs. ground flax or chia seeds with 3 Tbsp water)
1 tsp. bourbon vanilla bean paste
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
1. Make the crust as directed above.
2. Combine coconut oil and bittersweet chocolate in the top of double boiler. Fill the bottom with 2 inches of water, insert the top and set on low heat. Stir with silicone spatula until oil and chocolate is melted and combined, being careful not to incorporate air. Remove from heat.
3. In a large bowl, combine sweetener of choice, cacao and sea salt. Slowly whisk in coconut milk, eggs and bourbon vanilla bean paste. Once combined, gently fold in the chocolate and coconut oil mixture.
4. Pour filling into prepared crust and bake for 30 minutes. Rotate 180 degrees in the oven and bake 15 more minutes or until set and no longer jiggling in center.
5. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature on a cooling rack. Refrigerate for 2 hours before slicing and serve at room temperature. Dust with confectioners sugar and shaved chocolate before serving.
Apple Pear Cardamom Tart
DF, GF, Veg, V
Ingredients
1 Prepared Tart Crust (see above)
4 large apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2 ripe but firm pears, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
juice of one small lemon
4 Tbs. coconut sugar or maple syrup
1 tsp. bourbon vanilla bean paste
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. cardamom
2 Tbsp millet flour (or any other alternative flour on hand)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
1. Make the crust mixture as directed above. Spread and press ¾ of the crust mixture into a 9-inch tart pan, working the dough up the sides. Set remaining crust aside to use for a crumble topping.
2. In a large bowl, toss the apples and pears with sweetener of choice, bourbon vanilla bean paste, cinnamon, cardamom and millet flour. Once combined, arrange fruit into the tart pan and scatter crumbled remaining crust on top.
3. Place tart in the oven and bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour or until fruit is tender. If tart crust or topping begins to brown too quickly before fruit is cooked, cover lightly with foil for remaining cooking time.
Are you making one of these pies for your holiday dinner? Tell us in the comments below!
