This weekend a few friends and I took a little day trip out to Beacon. It’s one of my favorite places for a day trip outside of the city and the drive out was absolutely stunning. Even if you live on a tree lined street in the city, it’s easy to forget the beauty of the leaves changing. Along with leaves changing, I’m always excited to make my favorite fall recipes, like pumpkin pie. My allergy-prone family has been making a vegan pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving for a few years but I decided to take it more into pie or tart territory (I’m a crust lover!).

 

My version is somewhere between a traditional pumpkin pie and it’s raw, vegan cousin. I prefer to cook the crust to get that familiar crust-like texture, rather than opt for a more chewy, raw date and nut crust (though still delicious). The pumpkin pie filling whips up in just a minute in my KitchenAid® Pro Line® Series Blender. I like to add it to leave it raw and chill the tarts until they set but perhaps you could cook it for about 10 additional minutes, if you prefer. Add a crunchy, maple-y topping and a dollop of whipped cream and call it a day.

 

If you’re heading out to Beacon, work up an appetite on a hike and head to Ella’s Bellas on Main Street. We hiked Mount Beacon, which is all uphill – totally harder than we expected – so if you are doing this one make sure to bring snacks and water! Ella’s Bellas is a completely gluten free bakery with vegan and gluten free sandwiches, quiches, and salads, and lots of baked goods. It seems they have some “off menu” items so make sure to ask what sandwiches they have that day. I imagine they will have lots of pumpkin-inspired pies in the coming months, but in the meantime you can get cooking on this one at home 🙂 Check out Design Sponge’s great guide for more fun things to do in Beacon.

 

mini vegan pumpkin pies
mini vegan pumpkin pies
Ingredients
Makes 6 mini pies

mini vegan pumpkin pies

For the crust:

  • 1 cup gf rolled oats
  • 2 cup almond flour
  • ¼ cup coconut oil
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons almond milk
  • ½ teaspoon salt

 

For the filling:

  • ½ cup coconut cream
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
  • 1 ½  teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • ¼  teaspoon salt

 

Top with cacao nibs, hemp hearts, and pepitas!

Method

For the crust: Preheat the oven to 325F. Pulse the rolled oats in a blender or food processor until a rough flour forms. Add the rest of the ingredients and combine until it starts to form a dough. Be patient – you may have to scrap it down a few times before it starts to come together. Add another teaspoon of coconut oil/tablespoon of milk as needed. Make a ball with the dough, wrap in saran wrap, and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Press a large golf-size ball amount of dough into each mini tart pan (I used 4″ ones), making sure it is flush with the edge of the pan (if you don’t have a mini tart pans you can use muffin tins or mini muffin tins – just adjust the amount of dough in each as needed). You’ll have enough leftover dough for probably 3 more tarts – I like to store it in the freezer for last minute baking! Bake dough for 12 – 15 minutes, remove from oven and let cool.

 

For the filling: Combine all ingredients in blender until creamy and smooth. Taste and adjust sweetener and pumpkin pie spice as needed. Note: it will taste slightly less sweet when fully chilled. Once the crust has cooled, spoon in filling. Let chill in the freezer for a few hours. I prefer to store in the freezer and take out about 30 minutes before serving. Top with cacao nibs, hemp hearts, pepitas, a dollop of ice cream or whipped coconut cream, if desired. Enjoy!

mini pumpkin pies // clean food dirty cityThis post is in partnership with KitchenAid. All opinions are my own – thanks for your support!