It’s a week later, and all signs of Thanksgiving have left the house. Our tree is up, Christmas music is blasting, and decorations will be put up shortly. All signs of Thanksgiving food have been cleared as well. We ate most of the leftovers, most notably all the pie.
My family has always been a “pie” kind of family. My mom, sister, and I always make pie, whether we are alone or all together, and it one of our most loved traditions during the holiday season. We have at least three different kinds for Thanksgiving and Christmas each, with dough made from scratch. Our apple pies have always been made completely from scratch, our pumpkins either roasted and pureed or organic form a can with spices added in later, and growing up, berries straight from the can. Gooey, sticky, and incredibly sugary sweet. The past few years, as my organic and vegan recipe index grew, I started to make pies totally from scratch, even the berry filling.
This year, we went with three pies: Pumpkin (which was a new recipe and turn out just ok), Apple (a monster of a pie, made in a family effort by me, my Mom, and my Dad – he was in charge of helping me figure out how to heck to cover a 5-inch high apple mound with fragile gluten free dough!) and a mixed berry pie. 
Our dough recipe is basic and an older family recipe, which we use for almost every pie we make, without changing it much. It simply calls for butter, lour, and water (a dash of salt as well if you use unsalted butter). For the berries, I used a chia seed jam recipe, so the berries would stay firm and not melt out from under the crust when cut.
This was the pie I was most nervous about – I really didn’t know if it would taste good. I was honestly kinda winging it. A little maple syrup here, some chia seeds there, little dough on top… It was the first to go though, and we didn’t even break into it until the morning after Thanksgiving! Yes, as a “pie” family, we adore pie for breakfast, all times of the year, and for any occasion. And now you can too 🙂
- Pie Crust:
- 3 cups all-purpose (gluten free) flour
- 10 tbsp cold water
- 1 cup vegan butter (earth balance)
- Filling:
- 1-2 lb frozen mixed berries
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- 1 tbsp arrow root powder
- Pie Crust:
- Mix together flour and butter in a large bowl.
- Add cold water and use your hands to knead together into a dough, If sticky, use more flour. If dry, add more water.
- Form into a ball and set aside.
- Filling:
- In a large pot, add your berries, maple syrup, and sugar.
- Heat over medium high heat until the berries start to "melt".
- Add in your chia seeds and arrow root powder to soak up some of the extra liquid.
- Set aside while you prepare your pie crust.
- Roll you dough on a flat, floured surface. I like to roll it between to pieces of parchment paper or on a round pizza stone.
- Carefully transfer to your greased pie dish. Press any cracks together and fill them in with excess dough.
- You can roll out the rest of the dough for a covered top, or cut strips to weave for a lattice top.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, until the crust is flaky. Allow to cool slightly before eating and store any extra in the fridge.
Feedback time: What types of pies and desserts do yo make for the holidays? From scratch or pre-made (I promise, from scratch is really fun!)?
Peace and Love,
Jessi
