Aunt Maggie's Pumpkin Spice Pie for the Gluten-free Ratio Rally

There's nothing more quintessential to me about fall than pumpkin pie.  And luckily for me, I have a family who loves it just as much as I do.  Which is why I decided to feature my Aunt Maggie's amazing recipe for pumpkin pie for this month's Gluten-free Ratio Rally.  Her pie is legendary and is one of the things our family looks forward to most each fall, and it will make your house smell like the season. 

Many thanks to Lisa from Gluten-free Canteen for hosting this month's Ratio Rally!  

The filling for this comes together so easily, so that part will be a piece of....pie?  You can literally just dump it all in a bowl and mix it up with an electric mixer in less than 5 minutes.  Done.  And even though making a pie crust from scratch may seem daunting (I know it did for me!), it's really much simpler than you might expect.  And it will be so delicious, you'll be glad you took the extra 20 minutes to do it - I promise.  This crust turned out wonderfully firm and flakey (like a good crust should be), and the filling set beautifully thanks to a milk substitute of So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk.  We always have this pie (erm, several of these pies) at Thanksgiving, but you can use any excuse to make it anytime.  For example: It's Friday.  Bam - good enough reason to make a pumpkin pie.

It worked for me, anyway.  And it disappeared just as quickly as it came together.

Aunt Maggie's Pumpkin Spice Pie 

For the pie crust:
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour (plus about 1/2 cup more for dusting when rolling out)
1/2 cup potato starch
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1/4 tsp. salt
8 tbsp. butter
1 large egg
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

To brush on top:  1 egg white, beaten

Preheat your oven to 350 F.  Spray a 9-inch pie dish with cooking spray.

Combine the flours, sugar, xanthan gum, and salt.  Cut the butter into the flour mixture until it's small and crumbly.  Beat the egg and vanilla together, then add to the crust.  Mix with a fork, and then with your hands to form it into a cohesive ball.  Add extra brown rice flour as needed so that it's not sticky.  Cut in half and roll into two equal size balls, and wrap into saran wrap that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  Place in the freezer for at least 10 minutes.  If you're making two pies, remove both balls of dough from the freezer; if you're just making one pie, remove one of them and leave the other in the freezer until you're ready to use it another time.  Place the dough (one ball at a time) on a surface dusted with brown rice flour.  Place the sprayed saran wrap (spray side down) on top of the dough and press down.  Using a rolling pin, roll to a thin consistency, about 1/8 inch, adding more brown rice flour as needed to avoid sticking.  As best as you can, place the sheet of dough into the pie dish.  Don't worry too much if it falls apart; just scoop up the pieces and press them down into the bottom and about 2/3 of the way up the pie dish.  Brush the pie crust with the beaten egg white and place in the oven to pre-bake for 7 minutes, then remove from the oven to add the pie filling.

While the dough is chilling, prepare the pumpkin filling.  You'll need:
3 tbsp. Earth Balance Buttery Spread
1 cup white sugar
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 can pumpkin
3 eggs
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
3/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 cups So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk

Melt the Earth Balance and beat together with the sugars and pumpkin.  Add the eggs one at a time and blend in, then add the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and nutmeg (more of each to your own taste, if desired).  Add the So Delicious Coconut Milk 1/2 cup at a time.  The filling will seem rather fluid; that's ok!

Pour the pumpkin pie filling into the pre-baked pie crust.  Return to the oven and bake for about 1 hour, or just until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  After about 30 - 40 minutes, check to make sure the top isn't starting to get burned; if it is, use a piece of tin foil to create a little tent over the pie to protect the top but still allow the filling to set.

Remove from oven and let cool completely.  Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.  Serve plain or with gluten-free whipped cream topping.


Check out the rest of this month's Ratio Rally's delicious pie ideas:

TR from No One Likes Crumbley Cookies Chocolate Mousse Pie
Jean Layton from Gluten-Free Doctor Cheese Crusted Apple Pie
Charissa from Zest Bakery Apple Galette with Pisco Soaked Golden Raisins
Kate from katealicecookbook Kale & Zucchini Tart
Jenn from Jenn Cuisine Sweet Potato and Duck Pot Pie
Caleigh from Gluten Free[k] Leek and Potato Pie
Rachel from The Crispy Cook Maple Walnut Pie
gretchen from kumquat deep dish chocolate bourbon pecan pie
Claire from Gluten Freedom Autumn Pumpkin Spice Pie
Morri from Meals With Morri  Spinach – Prosciutto Ricotta Quiche & Muffin Tin Pie Variations
Silvana Nardone from Silvana’s Kitchen Chicken Potpie
Caneel from Mama Me Gluten Free Green Tomato Pie
Meredith from Gluten Free Betty Blueberry Pie
Shauna from Gluten-free Girl and the Chef Fresh Pumpkin Pie
Meaghan from The Wicked Good Vegan Vegan Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie with Pumpkin Seed and Ginger Topping
Erin from The Sensitive Epicure Chess Pie
Mary Fran from frannycakes Pumpkin Mousse Pie and Apple Maple Cream Cheese Pie
Brooke from B & the boy! Pot Pie
Lisa from Gluten Free Canteen Frangipane Apple Tart 
~Mrs. R from Honey From Flinty Rocks Mock Apple Pie
Irvin from Eat the Love Double Butterscotch Apple Pie

Pumpkin Corn Muffins

What a perfect treat for an overcast, chilly November afternoon.  These are a breeze to throw together (assuming, that is, that you have gluten-free cornmeal on hand, which I did not), and they bake up perfectly moist and tender, yet not too crumbly.  I got this recipe from Jules Gluten-free blog and used hemp milk (because, really, what else do you use hemp milk for?) and added about 1 tsp. gluten-free vanilla, but otherwise followed her recipe exactly.  Mine did not turn out to be overly sweet like some corn muffins, so keep that in mind so you can adjust the sugar to your own taste if you prefer a sweeter corn muffin.  If you make them as muffins, and not cornbread, bake them for about 22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  You can find it by clicking here.  So, go to her blog, grab your cornmeal, and get ready for some autumn deliciousness.

Low(er) Fat Pumpkin Bread

I'm on a low(er) fat kick these days.  I guess I figure, with how terrible of a stress eater I am, and in my first semester of graduate school, I'd better at least mitigate how badly this could turn out.  And I think I've made myself feel less guilty for eating these treats.  Which, unfortunately, will probably just lead to my eating more of them.  But, shh.  Let's just say it's healthier this way.  

After the how well my low(er) fat banana bread turned out, I've been substituting applesauce for oil all over the place, and with great success.  You won't be able to tell that anything is different about this bread, except perhaps that there is less oily residue on your hands after you eat it.  But that's it.  No difference in taste or texture - it's just as good as you remember it.  And vegan friends, you can take it a step further, if you wish.  Go ahead and substitute Egg Replacer for the eggs to make this a delicious, completely animal-product-free dessert.  It will still taste fantastic.

Low(er) Fat Pumpkin Bread

Makes 1 loaf

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup applesauce (use smooth or chunky depending on your own preference)

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

 2 eggs (can replace with Egg Replacer for vegan bread)
1 cup Libby's pumpkin puree (*see note)
1/2 cup rice flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour

1/4 cup chestnut flour (can substitute sorghum flour)

1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. xanthan gum
2 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon (or more to your own taste)

Combine the oil and sugar well, and then beat in the eggs. Add the pumpkin puree and mix well. Combine the flours, salt, baking powder, xanthan gum, and spices in a separate bowl and then add slowly to the wet mixture. Mix well and then pour into a greased or sprayed bread loaf pan and bake for 50 - 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the bread comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for at least 15 - 20 minutes, and then remove and continue to cool on a baking rack. Or, if you're like me and can't wait that long, serve warm from the pan with cup of hot, black coffee.

**If you want to make your own pumpkin puree, here's how:  simply take large slices of fresh pumpkin and bake at 350 for 1 - 1 1/2 hours in the oven. When it is very, very soft, remove from oven, scoop out the pumpkin flesh, and remove to a large bowl. If it is soft enough, you don't need to puree it (I did not puree mine because I don't have any electric mixing devices), but if you do have a way to do it, it would be best to puree it to remove all chunks. Store in the refrigerator if you will use it that day, and otherwise, store in 1 cup portions in the freezer until you need to use them.

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

I have gone a little pumpkin crazy now, but once again, it was well-worth it. This recipe will make a very large batch of cookies, so I divided it into thirds and froze two-thirds of the dough and made the rest right away. I ended up with about 25 cookies just from the third of the dough that I used. I personally love a lot of pumpkin spice and cinnamon flavor in my pumpkin desserts, but if you like a milder taste, reduce the pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon accordingly. I used freshly roasted pumpkin for this recipe, but that was out of necessity, as I can't find canned pumpkin here. These turned out to be soft, melt-in-your-mouth cookies that taste just like a piece of pumpkin bread. They'll disappear before your eyes if you bring them to a party - guaranteed.

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

½ cup gluten-free baking margarine, softened (OR Spectrum Organic Shortening)

1 cup white sugar

½ cup brown sugar

1 cup pumpkin puree (from a can or homemade – I used homemade for these)

1 egg

1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup sorghum flour

1 cup white rice flour

½ cup potato starch

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

3 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (OR ½ tsp. ground nutmeg and ½ tsp. ground cloves)





Optional Maple Icing Glaze

2 cups confectioners' sugar

3 tbsp. soy milk or water

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. maple extract

(note: Chopped pecans or walnuts can also be added)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine sorghum flour, rice flour, potato starch, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the ½ cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 tsp vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.

Bake for 15 to 20 min in the preheated oven. If you want them to be very soft, remove them when they are firm to the touch on top but not yet browned. If you want them to be a little crunchy, wait another 5 minutes until they are lightly browned.

To make the glaze, combine the confectioner’s sugar, soy milk/water, vanilla and maple extract. Add more water or soy milk by the tablespoonful as needed until you have the desired consistency (I like mine to be fairly thick).

When the cookies have cooled, drizzle glaze onto them with a fork or by putting the icing into a baggie and cutting one of the corners off to squeeze it on that way. If desired, add walnuts or pecans. If you prefer these without icing, they are just as delicious plain or with a little powdered sugar sprinkled on top.

For vegan cookies, substitute vegan margarine and 1.5 tsp. egg replacer + 2 tbsp. warm water for the egg.  You won't miss it.

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Even though it's not fall here in Swaziland, I have been in a pumpkin and squash sort of mood lately. And in a pancake mood, too. So you can see where this is going. I based the recipe for these on one I found on the Gluten-Free Mommy's website and tweaked it a little bit. The results were fantastic - a moist and very flavorful pancake that tasted as delicious with a mere sprinkle of cinnamon sugar as they did with maple syrup drizzled on top. I caramelized some pecans and sprinkled them onto one of the pancakes as well, which was also heavenly. These are very easy to throw together, and if you're in the mood for a pancake that will taste like pumpkin bread, this is for you.  

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. oil
1 cup soy milk (or other nondairy milk, or water)
1 egg
7 heaping tbsp. pumpkin puree

Place all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, oil, and soy milk and pour into the dry mixture. Add the pumpkin puree and stir to mix. It is ok if there are a few lumps in the batter. Heat a skillet over medium heat and coat with cooking spray or melted butter. Drop about 1/4 cup of pancake batter onto the skillet for each pancake. When bubbles appear on the top of the pancakes, flip them over and continue to cook for another 3 - 5 minutes. These are very moist and may need a little more time than normal pancakes to cook all the way through. When they are done, remove from pan and serve immediately. Top with cinnamon sugar, pumpkin pie spiced sugar, caramelized pecans, whipped topping, or maple syrup. Delicious!!

Pumpkin Bread

As I remain caught between seasons here, with my mind adjusting itself from what is normally autumn to what is now the rainy spring season in Swaziland, I am having trouble shifting my baking and cooking tendencies along with it. I have been thinking about pumpkin bread lately, and as my first care package from my family recently arrived, containing pumpkin pie spice, it was decided. The first challenge was the lack of canned pumpkin in the grocery stores here, but it turned out to be no problem at all, and way cheaper to make my own pumpkin puree anyway. The second challenge was to convert my family's classic pumpkin bread recipe to a gluten-free alternative. It turned out to be a success! While this is no healthier than a regular loaf of pumpkin bread, it's no worse either, and it tasted identical to me. It was just as soft and crumbly as my Aunt Rita's pumpkin bread always is, and it was like eating a slice of fall. The only thing about this bread is that, like other gluten-free treats, it won't last long before it starts to go bad, so you should plan to eat it right away or freeze it in slices before that happens. And while my aunt's recipe makes 2 loaves, I really didn't need the temptation of that much pumpkin bread sitting around my apartment, so I halved it to get this recipe (and as such, a few of the measurements are a little awkward). But otherwise, it's a delicious recipe that will bring Thanksgiving, warm houses filled with the smell of turkey and stuffing, crisp air and the Macy's parade to your mind.


Aunt Rita's (newly gluten-free) Pumpkin Bread
Makes 1 loaf

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups brown sugar (or white sugar, if you prefer)
1 1/2 - 2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree (*see note)
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. xanthan gum
2 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Combine the oil and sugar well, and then beat in the eggs. Add the pumpkin puree and mix well. Combine the flours, salt, baking powder, xanthan gum, and spices in a separate bowl and then add slowly to the wet mixture. Mix well and then pour into a greased or sprayed bread loaf pan and bake for 50 - 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the bread comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for at least 15 - 20 minutes, and then remove and continue to cool on a baking rack. Or, if you're like me and can't wait that long, serve warm from the pan with a nice, hot cup of coffee. **To make pumpkin puree, simply take large slices of fresh pumpkin and bake at 350 for 1 - 1 1/2 hours in the oven. When it is very, very soft, remove from oven, scoop out the pumpkin flesh, and remove to a large bowl. If it is soft enough, you don't need to puree it (I did not puree mine because I don't have any electric mixing devices), but if you do have a way to do it, it would be best to puree it to remove all chunks. Store in the refrigerator if you will use it that day, and otherwise, store in 1 cup portions in the freezer until you need to use them.

Vegan Pumpkin Cake with Spiced Icing

This cake is so moist that it practically melts in your mouth, and it was a huge hit among vegans and non-vegans, the gluten-free and the glutinous alike. I got the recipe (surprise, surprise) from the Gluten-free Goddess' website (you can find it here), but I made a few modifications for mine:

*I left out the raisins and nuts and just made it plain, although I'm sure it would be delicious with pecans, dried cranberries, or raisins, or all of the above.
*I added about 1/2 tsp. more of cinnamon and 1 tsp. more of pumpkin pie spice to the batter.
*I baked this in a 9" x 13" glass pan at 350 F for 23 - 25 minutes. If I had baked it any longer, I think it would still have turned out fine, just a little less moist.
*I made a brown sugar and spice icing (also based on this recipe by Karina) with Earth Balance Buttery Spread, brown sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice to taste, vanilla, a little soy milk as needed for moisture, and about 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar. I melted the Buttery Spread and cooked it with the brown sugar until it was bubbly and thick, and then just beat it all together until it was thick, and then I spread it over the cooled cake and placed in the fridge immediately. I still haven't quite mastered how to avoid separation of the icing, but refrigerating it definitely helped. As I said, these were a huge hit, and every last one was eaten up. This was my first time baking with Ener-G Egg Replacer, and I think it turned out to be excellent! If you bring these to Thanksgiving, probably no one will even be able to tell that they're lacking in more traditional ingredients. Delicious.

Pumpkin Cake with Maple Frosting

This was another winner from Karina's Kitchen, one of my favorite gluten-free blogs. Karina's blog is great because not only does she offer a ton of delicious gluten-free recipes, but a lot of them are dairy-free as well. After the Brown Sugar and Spice Pumpkin Bars I made from her site were such a huge hit, and because I love pumpkin desserts, I immediately set out to make another one of Karina's recipes. You can find the recipe for Maple Frosted Pumpkin Cake here on her blog. I used one 8-oz. package of Tofutti "Better Than Cream Cheese" instead of regular cream cheese, and Earth Balance Buttery Spread instead of butter, but other than that, I made it exactly as Karina told me to. This cake is moist and rich in flavor, and the frosting is absolutely to die for, rolling down the sides of each piece in big dollops, fluffy-looking yet velvety rich and smooth. (I would be absolutely shocked if anyone could tell that it is dairy-free.) This would be a great dessert to bring to Thanksgiving in lieu of traditional pumpkin bread.

Brown Sugar & Spice Pumpkin Bars by the Gluten-free Goddess

When fall comes around, all I want to do is spend hours in the kitchen, stirring, chopping, whipping, spreading, mixing, simmering, and smelling all of the different telltale whiffs of the season. Autumn is my favorite time of year because it is such a colorful season, both indoors and out. As the leaves are changing colors outside, there is also a flurry of colors inside the kitchen - bright orange pumpkins, soft beige butternut squash, green beans, plump red apples, juicy blackberries, sweet yellow corn. To me, there is something very cozy about holing yourself up in the kitchen on a cold day to cook and bake, humming along to your favorite music. For me, pumpkin is so much of what I love about fall, and I will try just about anything that contains it. So when I was poring over the wealth of recipes on Karina's blog (a.k.a. The Gluten-Free Goddess) and found this recipe for Brown Sugar and Spice Pumpkin Bars, I knew I had to give them a try. And they are scrumptious. I don't often use that word, actually, and I'm a little surprised myself that that's the first word that came to mind. The pumpkin in these holds them together beautifully, so they are not crumbly like so many gluten-free desserts tend to be. The icing is a wonderful complement to the flavor of the bars themselves. These taste just like the gluten-ful pumpkin cookies I made last year for Thanksgiving, and I can see them being a dangerous thing to have sitting around my kitchen, taunting me with their fabulous flavor. I brought them to share with some of the other people I volunteer with last night, and it was fun to watch their faces go from dubious to shocked at how good these tasted (they know about my dietary restrictions and have low expectations for the quality of anything I am actually able to eat). They actually liked them and ate almost all of them! So I hope you will give these a try, because they are sure to be a hit.

You can make these vegan by using egg replacer as a substitute for the eggs.