Pumpkin Pie

I may not have had pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, but I made some before Christmas anyway. This year’s recipe is from The Kind Life, and it was possibly the best vegan pumpkin pie I’ve had. The recipe as written makes 2 pies if you use store-bought crusts, though with a deeper homemade crust you’d get only 1 pie and would have to increase baking time. You can of course adjust the spices to taste, and I’d consider increasing the amount of maple syrup or adding some sugar next time, because it didn’t quite hit that sweet spot for me. You can serve this pie warm or chilled, and it would be great with some vegan whipped cream.

1 (16-oz.) can pumpkin purée
½ cup maple syrup (see note above)
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground cloves
½ tsp. ground allspice
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 (10-12-oz.) package silken/soft tofu
2 9-inch pie shells (see note above)

Preheat oven to 425 °F.

In a food processor, blend pumpkin and maple syrup. Add salt, spices, cornstarch and tofu; blend thoroughly.

Pour mixture into pie shells and bake for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 °F and bake for another 30 minutes. (If using only 1 deeper pie shell, this would be another 60 minutes or so.)

Let cool to room temperature. Chill and serve.