Gluten-Free Pecan Pie Crust

My planned visit to see my granddaughter and introduce her to Knox Blocks was waylaid when a Realtor called to schedule an appointment to bring her clients out to view our property in a couple of  hours. So, about the same time our home was being shown to potential buyers, I met up with my daughter in town to give Sephira her tray of orange "jigglers". She's going to share them with her cousin Max this weekend. 

Effie had a treat for me, too. She had made a pumpkin pie for a friend, but with a little of the filling left over she poured it into an oiled ramekin with a gluten-free "crust" of pecan bits, and baked it just for me. Effie and Sephira delivered their pumpkin dessert to me chilled with a side of whipping cream and a fork. Maybe it was the element of surprise, or that it was a very fall-ish sort of day, or the fact I hadn't eaten breakfast and it  way beyond breakfast time, or that I was sitting alone in my car in the parking lot of my allergist's office and didn't have to share it with anyone else... I devoured every bite of it in bliss! I wish I had a picture of it to show you. It was Yum! Loved the pecan crust! Here is the recipe Effie used from the back of the Santiam Classic Fancy Golden Pumpkin can. 

Ingredients:

1 can Santiam Pumpkin, pureed
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1-1/2 cups white sugar (we did 1/2 cup white sugar, 1 cup brown)
2 (12 oz) cans evaporated milk
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg or allspice (we did 1/4 tsp. nutmeg and 1/4 tsp. allspice)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F. Combine pumpkin, sugar, salt and spices. Blend in beaten eggs and milk. Pour into unbaked pie shells. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350F and bake 45 minutes or until knife inserted in center come out clean. Bake as instructed above. Recipe makes 2 nine-inch pies.

For Pecan Ramekin Tarts: Spray casserole ramekin dish with cooking oil. Sprinkle pecan pieces into bottom of dish. Pour pumpkin pie filling over pecans. 

Here is another way to make a gluten-free pecan crust. This particular recipe was created for a raw vegan pumpkin-less pumpkin pie. I plan to make and bake this crust with Effie's baked pumpkin pie recipe this Thanksgiving, using all organic ingredients.

Pecan Crust as shared by Melissa Breyer

CRUST

2 1/4 cups pecans, soaked overnight and dehydrated for 24 hours
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon date paste
1 pinch sea salt

Directions:

1. Place prepared pecans in food processor; pulse into small crumbs.
2. Mix pecans and all remaining ingredients together well by hand.
3. Press into plastic (or parchment) lined 9-inch tart pan to desired thickness. Dehydrate 48 hours.
4. Chill crust in freezer for 15-30 minutes before filling. If not using all of the crust mixture, store extra in a container in the freezer.

FILLING

1/2 cup cashews, soaked
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup agave

1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons carrot juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 vanilla bean, scraped
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg

Directions:

1. Blend all ingredients in a basic, heavy duty blender until very smooth.
2. Fill tart crust and chill in freezer overnight. 
3. Remove pie from tart pan and cut into 12 even slices and serve, or wrap each slice in parchment and store in refrigerator.
   

Adapted from the great raw cookbook Everyday Raw (Gibbs Smith, 2008) by Matthew Kenney