Coconut Cream Pie

Super simple, but really delicious and exotic tasting!

3 1/2 cups vanilla flavored rice milk
1/2 cup honey (or alternative sweetener of choice)
6 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
2 Tbsp. coconut extract

Save out 1/2 cup of the rice milk to blend with cornstarch for thickening. Bring the remaining ingredients to a slow boil and then add thickening. Cook until thick. Remove from heat and pour into a prepared pie shell.

*Pie shell ~ this is really good in a crushed walnut/oil crust that has been pre-baked until slightly toasty. No grains so it's gluten free.

Lemon Meringue Pie

   2 1/4 cups water
   1/3 cup frozen pineapple juice concentrate
   1/8 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
   5 Tbsp lemon juice
   1/3 cup honey (or sweetener of choice)
   1/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp cornstarch
   1 packet stevia (NuNaturals)


Measure all ingredients into blender and blend together. Cook over medium heat, stirring to avoid burning. Cover and let cool a bit before pouring into 8 inch pre-baked pie crust. A walnut crust works well for this pie.

Meringue

   2 Tbsp lemon juice
   1 cup water
   1 packet stevia (NuNatural)
   2 to 3 Tbsp gelatin, plain (Mary Jane's Farm sells a vegan version that works quite well)
   1 tsp lemon extract

Dissolve gelatin and stevia in 1 cup of boiling water.  Add other ingredients and pour into a dish to cool in refrigerator for a few
minutes. When mixture is the consistency of pudding, whip it for 5 minutes on high speed.

Let set for about 10 minutes to harden some more, then whip again for 5 minutes on high. This time it will be fluffy and will peak nicely.

NOTE: Use 2 tablespoons gelatin if making a day ahead, use 3 tablespoons if you are in a hurry and will eat immediately. And don't give up!

I used 3 tablespoons of gelatin ... and recommend that you only use two and not making it a day ahead. Three tablespoons was very stiff. This is an awesome recipe. Delightful flavor and liked by all. 

Walnut Pie Crust

1 1/2 cups walnuts, ground to a fine meal

1 package stevia (NuNaturals)

2 Tbsp. olive oil (or Earth Balance or your other favorite "fat")

Mix ingredients until well blended. Press into a pie shell. Bake at 300 degrees for about 10 minutes (lightly browned). Cool and fill with your favorite creamy pie filling.

Oatmeal-Nut Pie Crust

 

This is a wonderful pie crust and is especially good for cheesecake.  I prefer it over a graham cracker crust.  Walnuts = brain food.


Oatmeal-Nut Pie Crust


1 cup uncooked rolled oats (gluten free if necessary)
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
2/3 cup minced walnuts
1/3 cup margarine (or vegetable oil, scant)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spread oats in large, shallow pan.  Bake 10 minutes to toast.  Toss with sugar, nuts and melted margarine. 


Press into pie pan.  Refrigerate while making filling.


Yummy!  Can be used this way for a pudding filling - or - filled and baked again as for cheesecake.

Naturally Sweet Apple Pie

Naturally Sweet Apple Pie

6 cups peeled apples (tart apples may need more sweetening)
1 6-oz. can frozen unsweetened apple juice, undiluted
1 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 Tbsp. margarine
Pinch salt and apple pie spice to taste, if desired (or cinnamon)

2 pie crusts (top and bottom)

Simmer together until thickened and cooked. Pour into unbaked pie shell, dot with vegan margarine and cover with top crust. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until done.

Rice & Almond Flour Pie Crust

Rice and Almond Flour Pie Crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grind 1/3 cup whole almonds to a fine powder in a blender.

3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons honey (or alternative such as maple syrup or brown rice syrup)

In a 9-inch pie plate, combine the ground almond flour, brown rice flour, cinnamon or nutmeg and cloves. Mix well with a fork. In a microwave dish, combine the water, oil and honey and heat on low setting until honey liquefies. Drizzle the honey liquid over the flour mixture in the pie plate, and stir with a fork until well blended. Let stand until the dry ingredients absorb the liquid. Shape the crust by pressing mixture firmly into place with your fingers, covering bottom and sides of plate evenly. Pat top edge of crust into straight edge. Bake before or after adding filling. Bake empty crust for 5 minutes at 350 degrees F. Makes one crust.

Coconut Cream Pie

This recipe is a favorite! Easy to make, it has a rich flavor and appeals to anyone who loves coconut or custard!  It's dairy free and eggless and can be poured into a regular pie crust or into a nut or graham cracker crust as well.

Coconut Cream Pie

3 1/2 cups vanilla flavored rice milk
1/2 cup agave syrup or honey
6 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups unsweetened coconut, fine
2 tablespoons coconut extract

Save out 1/2 cup rice milk to blend with cornstarch for thickening. Bring the remaining ingredients to a slow boil, then add the 1/2 cup rice milk with cornstarch. Cook until thick. Cool completely. Pour into baked pie crust. Chill and serve.

Tofu Cheese Cake

Tofu Cheese Cake

1 prepared nut crust
1 cup pineapple juice
2 Tbsp. agar-agar
1 lb. soft tofu
5 Tbsp. honey
6 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tbsp. grated lemon peel
1 tsp. candied ginger, minced

Heat the pineapple juice to a near boil. Stir in the gelatin or agar-agar gradually and simmer until it is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Cool for at least 10 minutes.

In a blender or food processor, combine all the other ingredients with pineapple juice mixture and blend for a few minutes. Pour into the baked crust. Refrigerate 3 - 4 hours.

Creamy Peanut Butter Pie

Creamy Peanut Butter Pie

*A family favorite!*

1 1/2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs (or prepared nut crust for gluten free version)
1 Tbsp. oil
4 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 package Mori-Nu Lite Extra Firm tofu, pureed
8 oz. tofu cream cheese
2/3 cup granulated Sucanat
1/2 cup peanut butter, natural, crunchy
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. clover honey
1/4 cup fat-free chocolate syrup (reserve for topping; may substitute 3 Tbsp. carob chips melted in warm oven)

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9" or 10" round pie pan with cooking spray. Mix graham crackers, oil, and maple syrup together and press into the prepared pie pan. Place remaining ingredients (except chocolate syrup) in a food processor, puree until smooth, and pour into the crust. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes and then refrigerate overnight or 5 - 6 hours before serving. Drizzle pie with chocolate syrup just before serving.

Serves: 8 - 10

Mori-Nu Key Lime Pie

Mori-Nu Key Lime Pie

1 package Mori-Nu Lite Firm Tofu
8 oz. Tofutti cream cheese
1/2 cup Key lime juice
2 tsp. grated lime rind
2 packages Mori-Nu Mates Vanilla Creme Pudding Mix
1 - 2 Tbsp. honey, to taste (or alternative sweetener)
1 pie shell (a nut crust is delicious and gluten free)

Blend Mori-Nu Lite Firm Tofu with lime juice in a food processor until completely creamy and smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients, re-blend until smooth. Pour mixture into a cooled pie shell and chil for 2 - 3 hours.

Shredded Apple Pie with Nuts and Dates

Shredded Apple Pie with Nuts and Dates

2 1/2 cups sweet apples, grated
3 cups unsweetened pineapple juice
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup dates, chopped
1 baked pie shell, gluten free if necessary

Grate the apples on a medium shredder into pineapple juice. Keep the apples covered with juice. Refrigerate until ready to make the pie, then drain the apples and heat 2 cups of the pineapple juice.

Add the salt to the cornstarch and mix with a small amount of cold juice. Stir into the hot juice and cook until thickened. Set aside to cool.

Fill the baked pit shell with the apples and top with the thickened juice. Sprinkle with dates and nuts.

Pie Crust Crackers

Pie Crust Crackers

This recipe can be made into crackers or pie crust, your choice. Thus the name! There are no free-fats in this recipe. The desired satiety of fat comes from the seeds and nuts used.

1 cup quinoa flakes
1 1/2 cups rice flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/6 cup sesame seeds
1/6 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup walnuts
1 1/2 cups water, scant
salt, to taste (scant)

Blend quinoa flakes in blender or food processor to make flour. Mix the flours and salt together in bowl. Make a well in the center and set aside.

Blend the nuts and seeds in water until smooth and creamy. Pour the seed, nut, and water mixture into the well. Mix until all the flours are moist. Roll onto a cookie sheet. Score into diamonds. Sprinkle with a little salt and garlic powder, or with cinnamon and a little powdered stevia (or sweetener of your choice). Bake at 250 degrees F. until desired baked to desired crunch.

If using this recipe for pie crust, roll out between two pieces of plastic wrap. Transfer to pie plate (removing plastic wrap in the process). You may substitute the cornmeal with another type of flour for pie crust unless it's for a savory pie.

*For a cheesy flavor, substitute tomato juice or V8 for some of the water. Not recommended with the cinnamon and sugar option.

Raisin Pie

Have you ever had raisin pie? Here's a recipe that's full of wonderful nutrition and natural sweeteners. The essence of 'all things grape' shines through in this delicious dish! Enjoy!

Autumnal Raisin Pie

1 1/2 cups raisins
1 1/2 cups grape juice
sprinkle of salt

2/3 cup grape juice
2/3 cup raisins
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. cornstarch

In a saucepan, cook the raisins, grape juice and salt until the raisins are plump. In a blender, blend the additional raisins, grape and lemon juices. Add mixtures together, add cornstarch and continue stirring until thickened. Cool and add to cooled baked pie crusts. Keep in refrigerator until served.

Note: Instead of grape juice, you can use apple juice.

Alma's Rhubarb Pie

Dad and Alma are wonderful hosts and I shared a great time with them recently. We enjoyed doing fun things together, including reading my blog (and some of yours as well!). When I got home, Dad sent me this picture of the pie Alma had baked for him. Of course I requested the recipe (doesn't it look good?). Alma graciously shared and said I could share with blog readers as well. So, thank you, Alma, for the recipe. Happy baking, everyone!

Alma's Rhubarb Pie

Crust

1 – egg
3 c. – flour
1 tsp. – vinegar
1 1/4 c. – vegetable shortening
5 Tbsp. – water
1 tsp. – salt

Mix together egg, vinegar and water. Sift together dry ingredients. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients. Stir with fork until flour particles are moistened. Let stand for 20 minutes. Roll out on floured board. Makes 2 2-crust pies.

Pie Filling

Prepare pastry for 2-crust 9-inch pie.

Combine 4 cups fresh rhubarb cut in 1-inch pieces (about 1 pound), 1 2/3 cups sugar, 1/3 cup sifted all-purpose flour, and a dash of salt. Let stand 15 minutes. Turn into pastry-lined 9-inch pie plate. Dot with 2 tablespoons butter or margarine. Adjust top crust, cutting slits for escape of steam; seal. Bake at 400º for 50 minutes.

If baking pie shells, bake at 450° F. for 10-12 minutes; otherwise bake as specified for a particular type of pie, e.g. rhubarb, etc.

Naturally Sweet Apple Pie

This apple pie recipe has been my favorite for more than thirty years. I think I like it best because the natural sweeteners allow the true flavor of the apples to shine through. Delicious and sweet, this recipe is one you can enjoy without guilt! Containing no refined sugars, the sweetness comes from apples in fresh and juiced forms.

Use your favorite pie crust recipe. My favorite is one that contains whole wheat pastry flour, salt, olive oil, and ice water. . .but it's a recipe I no longer use since our family has had to convert to 'gluten free'. I'm still experimenting with gluten free pie crusts and don't have a recipe that's perfected to the point of sharing yet. The one in this picture is made from non-wheat flours and I experimented with coconut oil as the fat source this time. The flavor was good and the flake-factor excellent, but I have some more recipe adaptation to do before I have something to share.

Naturally Sweet Apple Pie

1 six-ounce can apple juice concentrate
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
5 - 6 large apples, peeled and sliced
1 Tbsp. margarine (Earth Balance)
1 tsp. cinnamon
Salt to taste

Heat apple juice and thicken with cornstarch and remove from heat. Add margarine and cinnamon. Have apples ready and pour the thickened juice mixture over the apples. Stir until coated. Sprinkle with salt. Pour into a pie shell and cover with top crust. Bake at 350 degrees F. until bubbly and golden brown (about 1 hour).

*If you would like some additional natural sweetness, add some sweet herb stevia to the apples when stirring with apple juice. It makes the filling just a touch sweeter without masking the wonderful apple flavor.

Enjoy with a cup of cinnamon tea!

Several asked about the sweet herb, stevia. It is a plant in the sunflower family and is a native to South America and Central America. It goes by several names: sweetleaf, sweet leaf, sugarleaf, and stevia. The leaves of this herb are 300 times sweeter than sugar. It is a natural sugar substitute and has been shown to have many health benefits. When used it cooking, it's important to experiment and determine your favorite 'brands', as each brand has a slightly different flavor. I like to grow and dry my own stevia. It's delicious in tea! Or I dry it and ground it. When using commercially packaged stevia my favorite brands are NuNaturals, NOW, and Sunrider.

Pineapple-Crowned Fruit Pie

How exciting it was to have one of my recipes selected for cookbook publication! I know --- many of my friends have published entire cookbooks, but it was still exciting to see my recipe in the cookbook my students sold. It was published in the Great American Heritage Cookbook. Recipes in this book were categorized by region of the United States: Northeastern, Pennsylvania Dutch, Southern, Creole, Southwest, Midwest, West Coast, Hawaiian, and Heartland. On the same page as home ec teachers from Cheney, Coeur d'Alene, or Dayton in the section for West Coast cooking is my recipe for Pineapple-Crowned Fruit Pie. It was one developed in a Food Science class during my college years. Fresh and tasty, I'll share it with you as well!

Pineapple-Crowned Fruit Pie

1 cup oats
1/4 cup sesame seed
Walnuts

1/4 tsp. salt
2 medium bananas, sliced
Lemon juice
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 20-oz. can crushed pineapple
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Process oats, sesame seed and 1/2 cup walnuts a small amount at a time in blender container until of flour consistency. Mix in salt and 3 Tbsp. cold water. Press into 9-inch pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Dip banana slices in lemon juice. Arrange in pie shell. Top with st4awberries. Blend cornstarch and pineapple in saucepan. Cook until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly. Cook for 1 minute longer. Stir in vanilla; cool. Spoon over fruit. Chill for several hours. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup chopped walnuts.

Makes: 6 - 8 servings.

*To make gluten free, use certified gluten free oats.

Whole Wheat Oil Pie Crust

Back in the 70's, my cousin married a wonderful girl named Candy. She soon became a family favorite and contributed to our family in many ways. Candy loves to cook and shared her pie crust recipe with me. For more than 30 years, it's been my pie crust recipe of choice.

Candy's Whole Wheat Oil Pie Crust

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp. salt

Sift together. Make a well in the center of the flour and set aside.

In another bowl mix:

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup boiling water

Mix the oil and water together, stirring briskly with a wire whip. Pour all at once into well in center of flour mixture. Stir just until flour is moist. Do not overmix. Roll between wax paper while still warm.

Makes 2 crusts. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden or use as bottom and top crust for your favorite fruit pie.

Shoo-fly Pie

Living with special dietary needs can be challenging. Those who are diagnosed with celiac disease quickly discover that life will never be the same again. Life completely without wheat, barley, and rye is difficult at best. Wheat or components of wheat are found in many foods. Successfully converting a recipe for a favorite food to 'gluten free' is exciting! And to convert is to vegan as well is a double success. Brent was most pleased to be able to have a slice of his favorite Shoo-fly pie again; gluten-free and plant-based.

Shoo-fly Pie

Crumb:

* 1 gluten-free pie shell, unbaked
* 1 1/4 cups gluten-free flour blend
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 1/4 cup Spectrum non-trans-fat vegetable shortening
* 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
* 1/2 pinch of salt

Filling:

* 1 cups hot water
* 1/2 cup mild molasses
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 1 tsp. EnerG egg replacer
* 1/2 tablespoon gluten-free flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1. Combine all crumb ingredients and mix until an even crumb is achieved. Set aside.

2. In another bowl, combine hot water, molasses, and brown sugar. Stir and add egg replacer, gluten-free flour blend, and baking soda.

3. Pour 1/2" of the liquid filling into the pie shell. Cover with crumb mixture. Continue to alternate between the filling and the crumbs until pie shell is full.

4. Bake in a preheated 350 F degree oven for 45 - 60 minutes. Insert a toothpick and test for oneness. It should come out clean.

5. Cool and serve with tea to celebrate National Hot Tea Month. Enjoy!

Tofu Pumpkin Pie

The tofu provides a creamy richness in this spicy pumpkin pie. It's delicious topped off with a dollop of dairy-free creamy topping like Cashew Cream. To make gluten-free, simply use a gluten-free pie crust.

16 ounces pumpkin puree -- canned
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
11 ounces soft silken tofu (1 box), processed until smooth
1 each 9-inch unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 425 F. Cream the pumpkin and sugar. Add salt, spices, and tofu, mix thoroughly. Pour mixture into pie shell and bake for 15 minutes. Lower heat to 350 F and bake for another 40 minutes. Chill and serve.