- Courtesy of whatscookingamerica.net
If I could, I would personally thank the guy who invented pumpkin pie. I’d walk right up, pat him on the back, and congratulate him for doing his part to make Thanksgiving—and the world—a little bit better. I’d also golf-clap for the guy who first whipped the cream and dropped a dollop atop said pumpkin pie, because that was a stroke of genius and creativity I can’t even comprehend.
I know I’m not alone in this. People are freaks for the pumpkin pie. Case in point: A few years ago, we met up with some friends to attend the Circleville Pumpkin Festival. We arrived promptly at 8 PM, but by then, not a single slice of pumpkin pie remained. Not a flaky morsel of crust, not a smudge of pumpkin filling—it was as though the whole concept of pumpkin pie had never really existed. We walked from display to display, only to be greeted by empty countertops. The disappointment, it was too much. Shame, shame, Circleville Pumpkin Fest. Shame, shame, I know your name.
And that is how I feel about pumpkin pie.
My five-year-old is allergic to dairy and eggs. This means he has never had a slice of pumpkin pie (!!!), and this wounds my heart in ways I can’t explain. I searched and searched for a good allergen-free recipe, gave up, and then stumbled across one last week. And so, today, at approximately 6PM, my boy will seize his fork and claim the same pie-eating freedom the rest of his fellow countrymen enjoy–all because some other guy, who probably also had food allergies and couldn’t eat the goodness, found a way to make sure he could.
How’s that for American ingenuity?
~*~
Dairy-Free, Egg-Free Pumpkin Pie!
Crust
1 cup ground graham crackers
½ cup dairy-free margarine, melted
2 Tbsp sugar
Pie Filling
2 cups canned pumpkin
¾ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 ½ cup water
6 ½ Tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp allspice
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ginger
Process
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Mix crust filling, then press into a pie pan.
- In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients for the filling. Cook over medium heat until mixture begins to thicken, stirring constantly
- Pour filling into pie crust.
- Bake 30 minutes until firm.
- Pile on the whipped cream and dig in.
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What an awesome mom you are! Let them eat pie! Happy Thanksgiving. Jeanne
Jeanne, I also made the pecan cheesecake recipe you sent me last week. Oh my gosh–delicious! It was a huge hit. I liked it so much I’m making it for my bookclub this week. Thanks so much!!!
This sounds delicious, Maura…it never occurred to me to try a crumb crust for pumpkin pie!
Your mention of Circleville brought back a fond memory…when we were kids in Ontario, there was a family from Circleville who rented a cottage down the road from us one summer…the boy was named “Stacy”…he was the first male with that name we’d ever met! Nice kid, a year older than my little brother. I wonder what ever happened to him?
Have a wonderful holiday!
Wendy
Aw. Stacy. What a great memory, Wendy. With a name like “Stacy,” I’m sure that nice kid wouldn’t be so hard to track down!
As someone who eschews pumpkin pie in favor of apple, b/c I’m not a fan of custards, I have to say, this recipe sounds FABULOUS b/c of the lack of egg & milk! I’m gonna try it. Thanks Maura!
Sara, is Naomi showing any signs of growing out of her allergies? Hugs to my sweet little “niece.”
Oh, I hope he likes it!
Two days of food posts (with fabulous pics)…my mouth is watering. Good thing I found my eatin’ pants yesterday — I’m so ready.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Eatin’ pants. That’s awesome, Amanda. I love it!
Another first for me – don’t know pumpkin pie either! Will have to try me some! Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving together. xx
Ooo! If/when you do try a pumpkin pie, Sunshine, I hope you’ll let me know. So great!
Congratulations. I hope he will remember to thank you if not now but in the future for finding a way for him to take part in this ritual.
Aw. Thanks! We do try really hard to make sure he has the same food experiences as other kids. And we’re lucky, too–with food allergies so prevalent these days, there are lots of alternatives out there for him.
I trink it’s great that you found this recipe, and I hope he’s thankful for having a good mom who’s watching out for him! I hope he likes/liked it.
Thanks, Todd Pack! I hope the Pack Family had a fabulous holiday!
I have to know how that pie turned out. And what was your son’s reaction to it? Food allergies are coming more to the forefront now, which is a very good thing.
Thanks, Carol. First, H thought the pie was great. Then, not so great. That’s fine–we’ll try again next year!
You go girl!! You’re an awesome Mom for finding that recipe!
I know H will revel in his new-found ‘pie-eating freedom’ (love that by the way!) and that’s as it should be
Happy Thanksgiving again!
Hugs, Harsha!
And happy birthday to you, Harsha! We’ve been out of town, so I still need to catch up on everyone’s blogs today–looking forward to hearing about your big day!
You should be in sales. I hate pumpkin pie, but now you’ve got me wanting to give it another shot!
Honestly, Catherine, it wasn’t bad! But if I were you, I’d stick with the dairy recipes. As much as I wanted this one to taste the same, it didn’t, although it was close.
It looks to me like a good recipe.
But does it taste as good as the non dairy pumpkin pie.
We get dairy and egg free food where i work and they never taste as good as what we make with all the bad stuff in the kitchen
You know, it’s funny–my son loved the pie at first, but when his cousin said it “tasted like vomit”–which I’m hoping was just youthful exaggeration–he decided he didn’t like it after all.
I thought it tasted fine–maybe a little on the spicy side, since there wasn’t any cream to counteract the allspice and ginger and whatnot. Any suggestions, Chef?
It wasn’t a pilgrim that invented pumpkin pie?