Oh My! Pumpkin Pie!

For your Thanksgiving feast are you planning to cook traditional dishes?  Or do you like to put a different take on the ol' holiday stand-bys?

Whether you're dedicated to popular turkey day foods or like to experiment, cooking with respect to food allergies can make either experience more challenging than usual.  This is especially true concerning desserts.  Below are two pumpkin recipes -- one traditional and one not so much -- that can be made deliciously without the top eight most common food allergens and with the help of some fragrant spices and coconut milk.

Pumpkin Pie

Adapted from Bryanna's Pumpkin Pie recipe

Ingredients:
15-ounce can of pumpkin puree
1 cup canned coconut milk
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt

1 unbaked pie crust (if you have a wheat or gluten allergy, check Whole Foods Market for this)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 
2. Combine all ingredients (except for pie crust) in a large bowl.  Blend until smooth and well combined.
3. Pour mixture into pie crust.  Cover edges of pie crust with foil to prevent premature burning.
4. Bake pie at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.  Then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and cook an additional 45-55 minutes until pie starts to darken.  Cool the pie completely and then refrigerate before serving.                   

The pie will probably not be set when you take it out of the oven.  My pie did not pass the "Insert the knife, is it clean?" test.  But since the top was on the brink of burning, I took it out.  After cooling and refrigerator time, the pie did set.


For a fun change of pace, consider making pumpkin pie ice cream instead!

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream
Adapted by Hannah Kaminsky's pumpkin pie ice cream recipe

Ingredients:

15-ounce can of pumpkin puree

14 ounce can of coconut milk + 3/4 cup coconut milk
1 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp arrowroot starch

1. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
4. Prepare your ice cream per the directions of your ice cream maker. Serve immediately or freeze.  You'll need to defrost frozen solid ice cream for 10-20 minutes on the counter before serving.

Happy pumpkin-eating with your little pumpkins!