Free of gluten, soy, corn, nut-free option, dairy-free option
Sometimes I think whoever came up with the term that something was "easy as pie" probably never actually tried making pie, just eating it. And most certainly they never made pie on a hot day, when the butter melts and the dough sticks to the rolling pin or the waxed paper, and then when you finally do get it into the pie plate it won't hold it's shape and make those nice little ridges but just sort of flops over the edge, like a wilted flower.
They never had a pie crust burn on the the edges and the bottom bubble up. They've never had a hard, chewy crust paired with an undercooked filling. They never slaved over a hot stove on a hot day, sweat dripping down into their eyes and between their breasts, turning on the oven light to check inside to make sure the filling didn't bubble up and over the edges, making a total mess of the inside of their stove so the kitchen is flooded with the smell of burnt fruit and the smoke alarm goes off and the neighbours all wonder what the heck you're burning this time...
Sometimes pie isn't easy.
But this gluten free, vegan, chocolate peanut butter pie is so easy, it's easier than pie. The crust takes just a couple of minutes to throw together, and you can pre-bake it while you whip together the filling. Then refrigerate a few minutes until it's set and there you have it. Easier than pie pie.
This crust is really simple, and does NOT require fancy ingredients like gluten fee and vegan chocolate cookie crumbs. You just make a faux cookie dough and press it into a pie plate. The inspiration for this came from a Mock Chocolate Cookie recipe on AllRecipes.com, I heavily modified it to be vegan and gluten free, and cut way back on the sugar.
The peanut butter filling is also really simple. A lot of recipes I found called for coconut cream. I find too much coconut doesn't agree with me, and it's also not all that cheap.
Organic tofu, on the other hand, is relatively cheap.If you'd prefer coconut cream over tofu, you can simply sub cream for tofu instead.
Vegan and Gluten Free Chocolate Pie Crust Ingredients - makes 1 (9") pie
To make the crust: Preheat oven to 325 F (165 C). Grease a pie plate.
1. Sift together sugar, flour, starch, cocoa powder, and salt in a bowl and mix. Pour melted butter into the flour mix and blend until a ball is formed. Press chocolate dough into bottom and half-way up the sides of a greased 9" pie plate.
2. Bake until the sides are firm and the bottom bubbles, about 10 minutes. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes.
To make the filling:
Blend all filling ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Scoop into pie crust and smooth top. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and press them lightly into the filling. Chill until filling is somewhat firm.
See? Easier than pie :)
This post was shared on the following great sites: Meatless Monday on Fit Foodie Mama, Meatless Monday on Tina Muir,
Sometimes I think whoever came up with the term that something was "easy as pie" probably never actually tried making pie, just eating it. And most certainly they never made pie on a hot day, when the butter melts and the dough sticks to the rolling pin or the waxed paper, and then when you finally do get it into the pie plate it won't hold it's shape and make those nice little ridges but just sort of flops over the edge, like a wilted flower.
They never had a pie crust burn on the the edges and the bottom bubble up. They've never had a hard, chewy crust paired with an undercooked filling. They never slaved over a hot stove on a hot day, sweat dripping down into their eyes and between their breasts, turning on the oven light to check inside to make sure the filling didn't bubble up and over the edges, making a total mess of the inside of their stove so the kitchen is flooded with the smell of burnt fruit and the smoke alarm goes off and the neighbours all wonder what the heck you're burning this time...
Sometimes pie isn't easy.
But this gluten free, vegan, chocolate peanut butter pie is so easy, it's easier than pie. The crust takes just a couple of minutes to throw together, and you can pre-bake it while you whip together the filling. Then refrigerate a few minutes until it's set and there you have it. Easier than pie pie.
This crust is really simple, and does NOT require fancy ingredients like gluten fee and vegan chocolate cookie crumbs. You just make a faux cookie dough and press it into a pie plate. The inspiration for this came from a Mock Chocolate Cookie recipe on AllRecipes.com, I heavily modified it to be vegan and gluten free, and cut way back on the sugar.
The peanut butter filling is also really simple. A lot of recipes I found called for coconut cream. I find too much coconut doesn't agree with me, and it's also not all that cheap.
Organic tofu, on the other hand, is relatively cheap.If you'd prefer coconut cream over tofu, you can simply sub cream for tofu instead.
Vegan and Gluten Free Chocolate Pie Crust Ingredients - makes 1 (9") pie
1/3 cup sugar of choice
3 Tbsp sorghum flour
2 Tbsp + 1 tsp tapioca starch
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 pinch salt
1/4 cup coconut oil OR dairy-free butter substitute (or butter for non-vegans), melted
Peanut Butter Pie Filling - makes 1 (9") pie
½ of a (12.3oz) pkg firm, organic silken
tofu - NOT extra firm (two of my favorite brands are: Organic Morinu tofu,
or Nasoya Organic Silken
Tofu. In Canada, I get the Morinu at Costco in 12 packs for super
cheap)
1 cup natural, smooth peanut butter OR for a nut-free option use sunbutter, or make your own seed butter
1/4 cup brown sugar (or maple syrup)
1/4 cup brown sugar (or maple syrup)
¼ tsp salt (+ more to taste)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
A handful or two of chocolate chips
Directions
To make the crust: Preheat oven to 325 F (165 C). Grease a pie plate.
1. Sift together sugar, flour, starch, cocoa powder, and salt in a bowl and mix. Pour melted butter into the flour mix and blend until a ball is formed. Press chocolate dough into bottom and half-way up the sides of a greased 9" pie plate.
2. Bake until the sides are firm and the bottom bubbles, about 10 minutes. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes.
To make the filling:
Blend all filling ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Scoop into pie crust and smooth top. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and press them lightly into the filling. Chill until filling is somewhat firm.
See? Easier than pie :)
This crust would also work excellent with some of my other pie recipes, like:
Microwaved Chocolate Pudding Pie (vegan opt)
What would you put in this Vegan, Gluten Free Chocolate Pie Crust?
Have you seen my gluten free pasta book Recipes for Unusual Gluten Free Pasta: Pierogis, Dumplings, Desserts and More! ? Get yourself a copy and start making GF won tons, pierogis, dumplings, and orzo today :)
This post was shared on the following great sites: Meatless Monday on Fit Foodie Mama, Meatless Monday on Tina Muir,
ooh you had me at choc and pnb! Creative way to make a pie. Thanks for joining us for Meatless monday
ReplyDeleteI confess when the sweet cravings are desperate I just sprinkle chocolate chips on a spoonful of pb, but this is a classier way to go about it ;)
DeleteHi Danielle! Nice to meet you! Not sure we have met before, but what a great recipe to start with, and how unique! This is truly a nutritionally packed dessert! YUM! Hope you join us again every week with recipes like this!
ReplyDeleteHi Tina, thanks for stopping by and do intend to link up again!
DeleteYum! Thanks for sharing this and thanks for joining the Meatless Monday linkup!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting and stopping by, Rachel :)
DeleteChoco and PB is such a great combo! This looks delish- thanks so much for linking up! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Annmarie!
Delete