More Thanksgiving Pies
Umami-laden maple miso apple and richly spiced chai pecan
I love trying out new dessert recipes each Thanksgiving, and I have two for you that I am debuting at my holiday table for the first time this year.
First, for all subscribers, is my chai-spiced pecan pie. This recipe took a while to develop. Eggs are a critical component in traditional pecan pie, setting the pie nicely without making it too gelatinous. Figuring out the right combination of vegan setting agents and egg replacements so that the pie was firm enough to slice but soft enough to melt in the mouth required a number of iterations. In the end, I settled on a method I learned from a fellow vegan recipe developer, Banana Diaries, which uses both arrowroot, thickened over the stove, and flax, which firms up in the oven and whose nutty flavor complements the pecans. To amplify that nuttiness, there is browned vegan butter in the filling (yes, you can brown vegan butter), and a rich array of spices. My preference is freshly ground chai and a bit of extra cinnamon, but feel free to experiment. This pie would also be delicious with a layer of bittersweet chocolate along the bottom, as the filling is quite sweet. I finished mine with a dollop of unsweetened vegan yogurt (I love Cocojune) and a dusting of cinnamon as a nod to the spices in the filling.
And, for paid subscribers, read on for a special, umami-rich maple miso apple pie!
Chai-Spiced Pecan Pie
Makes one 9-inch pie
1 hours active time, 3 hrs 30 mins total time
Ingredients
1/2 recipe Vegan Flaky Pie Dough, partially blind baked
Pecan Pie Filling
127 g (1/2 cup + 1 tbsp) unsalted, cultured-style vegan butter (e.g. Miyoko’s)
21 g (3 tbsp) flaxseed meal
130 g (1/2 cup + 2 tsp) full-fat, unsweetened oat milk
134 g (2/3 cup) dark brown sugar
30 g (1/4 cup) arrowroot powder
3 g (1 tsp) kosher salt (Diamond Crystal or see note below)
2.5 g (1 tsp) Masala chai spices, ground in a mortar & pestle or spice grinder
0.625 g (1/4 tsp) cinnamon
255 g (3/4 cup) light agave nectar
60 g (1/4 cup) full fat, unsweetened oat milk
10 g (2 tsp) vanilla extract
90 g (3/4 cup) pecan halves, toasted and roughly chopped
150 g (1 1/4 cup) in-tact pecan halves, untoasted
Unsweetened vegan yogurt or lightly whipped vegan cream, for serving
Instructions
Brown the vegan butter
Preheat the oven to 350 F and position a rack at the bottom of the oven
Place the vegan butter in a medium saucepan and melt it over medium heat
Stir continuously but gently as the mixture will become foamier the more vigorously you mix
It will be hard to judge the color of the butter because it will be very foamy, but once you can feel pieces of butter sticking to the bottom of the pan, continue cooking for 30 sec longer, then remove the pan from the heat
Transfer the butter to a small bowl; it should be light-to-medium brown in color
Measure out 85 g (6 tbsp) of the browned vegan butter and set aside; if you have any leftover, you can use it for something else
Make the Pecan Pie Filling
Combine the flaxseed meal and first portion of oat milk in a small bowl and set aside to thicken
Combine the brown sugar, arrowroot, salt, and spices in a small bowl until the starch is evenly distributed
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the agave syrup, second portion of oat milk, browned vegan butter, and dry ingredients
Bring the mixture to a rolling boil over medium heat; cook at a rolling boil for 2 mins, then pour the mixture into a large bowl and allow it to cool for 5 mins
Add the flaxseed mixture, vanilla extract, and chopped pecans
Finish and bake the pie
Pour the pie filling into the partially blind-baked crust
Carefully top the filling with concentric rings of untoasted pecan halves
Bake the pie on a parchment-lined baking sheet on the bottom rack for 60 - 70 mins (rotating halfway through), until the filling is set and the crust is golden
Allow the pie to cool for at least 2 hours so it fully sets, then serve with unsweetened vegan yogurt or lightly whipped vegan cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon, if desired :)
Notes & Variations
Ingredient Notes
Kosher salt: I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt, which has larger crystals than other kinds of kosher salt, normal table salt or fine sea salt. As a result, when measured by volume (teaspoons/tablespoons) it will add less "saltiness" than an equal quantity of the other salts. If you are not using Diamond Crystal, I recommend measuring your salt by weight, in which case you won't run into this issue. Otherwise, use half the volume quantity of salt
Vegan butter: There are two main types of vegan butter: (1) margarine-style products that are basically butter-flavored vegetable shortening (e.g. Earth Balance or Violife), and (2) cultured-style products made from cashew, coconut, or other kinds of fats (e.g. Miyoko's). I generally prefer the first type in cakes, muffins, and frostings, where the more obvious "butter" flavor and greater stability, and yellow color are beneficial. I prefer the second type in recipes where the fat will caramelize, such as cookies, pie or tart dough, and bread, as margarine-style butters can develop unpleasant burnt oil flavors when heated to high temperatures. Also, cultured-style butter can be browned similarly to dairy butter, while margarine-style butter cannot
Things I Used
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Ingredients
Nielsen-Massey pure vanilla extract
Bob's Red Mill arrowroot starch
Cocojune cultured coconut yogurt
Equipment
Traditional apple pie always feels a little plain to me, so I like mixing up the flavors each year, and this inspiration came from a maple miso sauce I used to glaze sweet potatoes for dinner one night. Using maple sugar, essentially dried maple syrup, won’t add too much liquid to the filling like syrup would, and just a touch of white miso lends a salty, umami edge to balance out the sweet apples. There’s also a very small amount of lemon juice to add brightness and a hint of cinnamon for warmth. I’ve stamped a maple leaf on my top crust, but feel free to get creative with your design. A lattice here would be lovely. I’ll be back next week with one more Thanksgiving post before the big day!
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