Pumpkin Pie with a Walnut Crust, Caramelized Apples, and Maple-Balsamic Drizzle

Autumn… seasons are changing...  leaves are falling... and pumpkins are being turned into pumpkin pie! Healthy, hearty, actually-good-for-you pumpkin pie. 

But with a twist! Are you ready for this? Okay, here we go:

The no-bake pumpkin pie is encased with a walnut crust, covered with nutty, caramelized apples, and a maple-balsamic drizzle.

Whaaaa???

Yeah, you heard me! This pumpkin pie is so creamy, nutty, and fruity, with a stunning accent of pumpkin pie spice! It is sure to wow everybody, even your gluten and grain-eating friends.

Trust me, you’ll definitely want to make this recipe for yourself!

Plus, I made it dairy-free, egg-free, and almond-free. And the pie part is raw, so there’s none of that “will it bake right?” stress, or hot ovens heating up your house all day long.

Enjoy!

Serves 8 people.

Ingredients:

Walnut Crust:

2 cups walnuts (shelled)

2 Tbs maple syrup

1 Tbs melted or softened coconut oil or butter

Pumpkin Pie Filling:

1 cup raw cashews, soaked in 2 cups of water for at least two hours, if not overnight.

Then drain out the old water, and rinse the cashews.

The meat of 1 young Thai coconut

2 Tbs fresh coconut water

½ a 15 oz can organic pumpkin purée (about a heaping ¾ cup pumpkin)

1 1/2 Tbs pumpkin pie spice

2 1/2 Tbs maple syrup

Caramelized Apples:

2 Honey Crisp apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

1 Tbs coconut oil

1 ½ Tbs coconut sugar

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Maple-balsamic Drizzle:

1 Tbs Maple syrup

1 Tbs + ¼ tsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp water

Directions:

For the Crust:

1. In your food processor, pulse the walnuts until they resemble coarse crumbs. Pulse in the maple syrup, coconut oil, until your dough forms. Do not let it blend for too long, or it will turn into walnut butter.
2. Grease a 9 inch removable-bottom tart pan with coconut oil. Press the walnut dough into the tart pan, and freeze for at least 30 minutes, or until the pumpkin filling is done.

For the Pumpkin Pie Filling:

1. In your food processor, pulse the cashews, coconut meat and coconut water, until it forms a wet, dough-like consistency. Blend in all the other ingredients. Pulse on and off until the mixture is very very smooth and there are no big chunks of cashews. This may take up to half an hour.
2. Remove the crust from freezer, and scoop the filling into the crust. Spread it until it's smooth on the top. Place the pie back in the freezer for 2 hours, or until the top is very firm.

For the Caramelized Apples:

1. Place the coconut oil in a medium-sized saucepan, over medium heat. Once the coconut oil is melted, gently add the apples. to make sure that each apple slice gets coated on both sides with the coconut oil, you can flip them once they start soaking up the oil.
2. Add the coconut sugar, sprinkling it on evenly. Add the spice, sprinkling it on each side of the apples.
3. Let the apples cook until they begin shrinking, get more soft and tender, and the apples have soaked up most of the coconut oil. This might take about seven minutes. Remove the apples from heat and let them cool.

For the Maple-Balsamic Drizzle:

1. To make the balsamic drizzle, add your 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar and maple syrup to a small saucepan on medium-high heat.
2. Stir about every few seconds, for about 2 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the 1/2 tsp water, and 1/4 tsp balsamic. Stir until the mixture is smooth.
3. Let it cool before drizzling on the pie. If it starts hardening too much, you can stir in another ¼ tsp water, too thin it out.

To Assemble:

1. Take your pie out of the freezer, and gently remove the sides of the tart pan.
2. Assemble the cooled apples on top, in a pretty design. Now, I'd recommend letting the pie sit at room temp for about fifteen minutes. Drizzle the maple-balsamic on top, and serve the pie immediately. Enjoy!

Note: If you wait too long before serving the pie, the filling and crust will get too soft. But you don't want it to be too frozen, or the drizzle will turn to brittle.