Vegan MoFo #11: Optionally Pink Peppermint Pie

TIME FOR A DESSERT.

This recipe was originally found on page 303 of the 1978 Betty Crocker cookbook.

The original recipe is primarily heavy cream, whipped – and melted marshmallows.

Blech, says I.

I made this pie in my pre-veg days with the cream and marshmallows and thought it was good, albeit the next day it was less appealing because I’ve never been a huge fan of the texture of marshmallows anyway, and it really made me a bit grossed out. It was for some relatives who were coming over to dinner. I served them haystacks, homemade GooGoo Clusters*, and this pie.

But creamy peppermint pie! Surely there must be some way to have it uncorrupted by horse hooves and calf food, and be sort of nutritious as well.

Pink Peppermint Pie, Take 1

So, about a month ago I decided to give it a try, because even I can only eat so many cream pies and I knew it would take some tweaking before I was ready to present it to you today.

I have a millet cheesecake recipe I like to use a lot. Not only is it healthy (millet! cashews! no refined sugar!), it’s super simple to put together and the only expensive part is the cashews – of which you don’t use that many anyway. (By the way, the linked recipe is enough for either one springform cheesecake or two pie pans like I have pictured here. I did half a recipe to get just one pie.)

So that was my springboard. I thought that I could just whip it up, add peppermint flavouring, sub a nutmilk for the lemon juice, tint it with some of the beet juice from the beet-filled Pyrex of my husband’s that was in the fridge, and call it good.

Sadly, that didn’t work out so well. I took it to our Friday night group and the vote was unanimous that it needed improvement. All three of the children present, independent of one another, said it tasted like toothpaste at their very first bite. Notwithstanding that, the oldest-constantly-hungry-teenager-whom-we-shall-call-Train-Boy ate two helpings of the Toothpaste Pie.

The texture was all wrong and the peppermint flavouring was definitely too strong.

I tried again the following Friday, and according to inside sources all the kids, including Train Boy, made Loud Groaning Noises of Sadness and Despair and said, “Is she bringing Toothpaste Pie aGAIN?” when their mom told them I was bringing take 2. We all agreed, however, when we tried it, that the flavour was pretty perfect this time, but the texture just still needed work.

So, behold: Take 3.

I didn’t have any beet juice on hand, and my red food colouring is MIA. Please use your imaginations to imagine that the pie filling part is pink.

First, you’ll need a graham cracker crust. For takes 1 and 2, I used premade graham cracker crumb crusts, which are totally okay, very yummy, and certainly the easiest way. For take 3, I decided to go all out and I used the graham cracker recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar and made a pressed-in cookie-type crust.

Second, you need to do your filling. Here’s how.

Soak:
1/2 c cashews for 8 hours or overnight

Cook together:
1/4 c millet
1 c water

I forgot to time it, but it doesn’t take very long, so keep a close eye on it. When it comes to a boil, turn it down to a simmer and when the water is mostly gone, turn it off and set aside, covered.

In another saucepan whisk together:
1 1/2 c non-dairy milk (I used oat milk in take 3, but soy, almond, or cocoanut would also work)
1 tsp agar powder
1 T cornstarch
1/4 c sugar

Whisk in pan constantly at medium heat until it gets bubbly; then continue to whisk about 2 minutes, until slightly thickened. Pour into blender with soaked cashews.

Add the following to the blender:
1 tsp peppermint extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
A few drops red food colouring, if desired

When that is blended super-smooth, pour in the millet and blend again until smooth. Spread into pan and refrigerate until firm. You can top with a non-dairy whipped topping if you like, or crushed peppermint candies, or both.

Sliced and ready to nom

_____

*GOOGOO CLUSTERS**. Surely there must be a way to make these vegan, too.

**My eldest daughter’s prenatal name was GooGoo because of GooGoo Clusters. I was kind of obsessed with them. Also, I tried to freak people out by telling them we were planning to actually name the baby GooGoo Cluster.

Cookbook Review: Vegan Pie in the Sky

This is the most recent installment in the dessert trilogy by Isa Chandra Moskowitz of Post Punk Kitchen and Terry Hope Romero. I have all three books, but I have to say that this one has been used the most by me. I guess that I like pie. Also, there are more recipes in this book that call for things I usually have on hand or easy access to. Plus, my husband is far more likely to eat things from this book; he’s not into cookies or cake much at all.

There is LOTS of information in the book about how to succeed at making pies, with lots of tips, answering questions about thickeners like agar and cornstarch, how to use frozen fruit successfully in a pie, what kind of equipment you need, and more.

You might be saying to yourself, “But isn’t pie always vegan?” Generally, yes (unless you’re using lard in your crusts). But this book encompasses other desserts too – fruit buckles, pandowdies, hand pies, crisps, cobblers, and tarts – things that didn’t fit into either the cupcake or cookie realm.

So, without further ado, I’ll share my thoughts about all the recipes I’ve tried so far.

Double Butter Crust: This was an EXCELLENT crust and I was pleased with both flavour and texture. It was a little challenging to make without a pastry cutter (mine is in storage, boo!) and I did a double batch, but I somehow managed with a fork to get it all worked together. I used this crust for the following two pies:

Blackberry Bramble Pie

Because we have blackberries growing profusely on our property and they are Free, this was a natural first choice for me to make out of this book. We had loads in the freezer! I blithely ignored Isa’s cautions about adding extra cornstarch to frozen fruit, however, and later regretted not heeding her voice of experience, because it was runny. But that was my own fault. It still tasted fantastic. (I also left out the liqueur, because I didn’t have any, just for the record.)

Appleberry Pie

I did this with our own apples and blackberries, and again it was amazingly good. Both this pie and the Blackberry Bramble Pie got rave reviews from our Friday night small group.

*

Maple-Kissed Blueberry Pie (Blueberry Thrill Pie not pictured)

I did the double buttery crust with 1.5 cups white flour/1 cup spelt flour for these two blueberry variations. I could really NOT tell much difference between these two pies, most likely because I didn’t have maple extract and the maple syrup wasn’t enough on its own to give the maple flavour. I also couldn’t put in the lemon zest because my coffee grinder has given up the ghost and I was unable to grind up my frozen lemon peelings, which made me sad. Also, despite upping the cornstarch as recommended this time for frozen fruit, it was still a tad runny. HOWEVER, they were still a big hit. My friend made the cocoanut milk ice cream you see pictured below to eat with the pie:

Amazingness on a paper plate.

*

Summer Fruit Buckle: I did this for my birthday cake this year, and it was so, so delicious! I didn’t get a picture of it, unfortunately. It was best eaten the day of baking: fluffy, light, and doughnut-like (I think the cardamom is what makes it so delectably perfect!); afterwards it got kind of gooey from the fruit. It still tasted okay but the texture was just not the same. So I recommend making only a single recipe at a time unless you’re planning to feed quite a crowd.

(What is a buckle, you might ask? It’s cake batter with fruit dumped, er, carefully arranged on top. The cake part rises up around the fruit and it all… buckles.)

*

Key Lime Pie

I cheated and used a premade graham cracker crust when I did the Key Lime Pie (and just plain limes). It was amazingly good. I could have eaten it all the first day if my husband didn’t stop me! My daughter, who is two, also loved it. It stayed nice for about two days; after that the crust started to get a little soggy. And then I had to hurry and finish eating it before it got any worse.

Grasshopper Pie: I haven’t made this one myself but my friend did, and it was delicious!

If you’d like to try a couple recipes out of this book, Isa has shared a few on her site.