INGREDIENTS:
- 1 large acorn squash
- 1/2 c pure apple cider
- 3 tbsp of agave nectar
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 3/4 c almond or coconut milk, unsweetened
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heavily line a baking dish with heavy duty tin foil. What I mean, is allow a bit of overhang to almost "tent" the squash. Slice squash in half and remove seeds and "strings". Score both halves several times with a sharp knife. Drizzle the agave nectar and apple cider over the squash and position foil to form a wall approximately 1-2 inches high around squash. Bake 1 hr and 5 minutes.
Allow to cool enough where you can handle to remove skin. This should be easily removed by hand or with a small paring knife. Slice or break the squash into cubes and put into a food processor. Pulse into a puree. Set aside.
Pie Crust
Before we begin with your crust, here are a few items that made my life much easier when making this pie:
- 9" pie plate - I used an Emile Henry for nice even baking. The dish does a much better job than a regular pie tin.
- Parchment paper - a must with this crust as it will stick to a counter top or other surface upon rolling out and won't transport to pie plate very easily otherwise.
- "The Perfect Pie Crust Shield" - I found this one at Sprouts. You may also use tin foil to prevent your crust from over browning, but this little guy was under $3.00 and it saved my crust! The foil didn't do as well and was harder to keep on.
- Pie Weight - I used a Chicago Metallic Disc. If you prefer, you may also use parchment paper and dry beans.
- 3 c Cup 4 Cup or other gf flour
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp agave nectar
- 12 tbsp Nature's Balance vegan buttery sticks or unsalted butter
- 1/3 c vegetable shortening
- 1.5 c ice water
DIRECTIONS:
Cut shortening and buttery sticks (or butter) into cubes and refrigerate. Combine Cup 4 Cup, salt, and agave nectar, in that order, in the bowl of your food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to mix. Add buttery sticks and shortening. Pulse 10-12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour ice water into feeding tube until dough starts to clump into a ball. Dump onto generously floured (w/Cup 4 Cup) board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Butter your pie plate and put in fridge. Secure a piece of parchment paper (with tape or weights) to your counter top, large enough to roll your dough out onto and flour liberally. Take out refrigerated dough and cut in half. Save other half, wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge. (You may half this recipe if you don't want a top crust/"back up" crust, depending on what kind of pie you are making as this crust can be used for any pie your little heart desires.) Flour your rolling pin and roll out dough large enough to fill your pie plate. By the way, I used a 9" pie plate, but I recommend an 8" if your squash is on the small side.
Your dough is going to be a little soft and fragile. If you struggle rolling it out and it begins to stick. Roll back into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, refrigerate for another 15-20 minutes and try again. Trust me, don't keep fighting with it once the dough has warmed. You won't win.
You'll notice in the picture above, my crust is a bit thick. This was my first attempt. (I always test a recipe a minimum of 3-4 times before posting.) Unfortunately, the photos taken of the the other pies didn't really turn out because someone got to the pie before I did or the lighting was just terrible. Regardless, although pretty, I recommend making a bit flatter, thinner crust. It bakes and tastes better! Just a thin layer with with few decorative thumb prints should do the trick!
Flip your rolled out dough over onto your pie plate and shape. If you have tears or missing parts, don't fret! Just mold it as evenly as possible into a beautiful crust as best you can, filling in the missing parts by pressing the leftover dough in place. Remember, if it looks perfect it's not homemade anyway, right? Give it your homemade love and don't mess with the crust too much.
Now it's time to blind bake it. You definitely don't want to skip this step as you are filling your pie with a liquid mixture and don't want the bottom to turn out soggy. Place either your pie weight or a sheet of parchment paper with a layer of dry beans onto your crust. (No need to prick with a fork in this case. It may also cause a soggy bottom and your weight will take care of the crust.) Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes until you see a tiny bit of color creeping onto the crust. Don't forget your foil or crust shield! Most recipes will tell you to blind bake up to 15 minutes, but this is too long for this delicate crust. I recommend being conservative as the crust will brown during baking even with the guard.
While the crust is in the oven, you will want to warm your filling. A warm crust enjoys warm filling and this will ensure your filling isn't too soft either. Pour your filling mixture into a medium sauce pan on medium heat. Whisk regularly as it warms for approximately 8-9 minutes. This is going to infuse your flavors and ensure your filling is done.
Once crust is done blind baking, reduce the oven heat to 375 degrees. Remove weight and fill crust with warm filling. (Keep crust guard or foil on during entire baking process. If approximately 5 minutes before completely baked you feel the crust is too pale, go ahead and remove at that point.) Bake for 30-40 minutes or until knife inserted approximately 1 inch from crust comes out clean.
Let cool to room temperature - approximately 2 hours. This will allow the filling to settle. Serve and enjoy!
This can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days covered with plastic wrap but I'm sure it won't last that long!
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