With a great tip from Mark Bittman of The New York Times, I improved the gluten-free, dairy-free pumpkin pie that I made for Thanksgiving a year ago. Last year, the pat-in crust, made from purchased gluten-free ginger snaps, was really ugly. This year, I added unsweetened coconut to the ginger snaps and it worked much better. I also liked the fact that the coconut in the crust complemented the coconut milk in the filling.

Gluten-free Ginger Snap and Coconut Crust

Ginger snaps, ground in a food processor (1 ½ c)

¼ c unsweetened coconut

6 tbsp vegan spread (Earth Balance), melted

Mix all ingredients and pat into 8-inch pie pan. Chill. Prebake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool before adding filling and finishing pie.

Pumpkin Pie Filling with Coconut Milk

1 c precooked pumpkin (from a can or roasted mashed from a pie pumpkin

1 c coconut milk

¼ c brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves or allspice

Pinch of salt

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Mix all ingredients together and pour into partially baked crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until set.

Categories: Gluten-free dairy-free, Pie, PumpkinTags: Ginger snap pie crust, Gluten-free dairy-free pumpkin pie