Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie

Thanksgiving is around the corner and pumpkins are in season now, what better to make than pumpkin pie???  It's my all time favorite pie, and I make a damn good one!  And for all you kosher people, this recipe is dairy free, made with pareve margarine and pareve vanilla soy milk.  Westsoy makes a great one!  I made this dessert for my 100th post celebration because I am scheduled to do a cooking demo in November and I'm planning to show some Thanksgiving recipes and needed to try it out beforehand.  So here you go...

Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie Sugar Crust
(makes crust for 2 pies)
1 1/2 stick unsalted pareve margarine, room temperature (I use Fleischmann's)
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste OR good vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour

Cream margarine and sugar in a bowl with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla to margarine mixture, mix until well combined.  Add flour slowly to mix, and mix just until combined.  Use hands to form dough into 2 balls, cover both with saran wrap and place in fridge for 2 hours.

NOTE: I think this recipe works best using a tart pan rather than a pie dish, if you choose to use a pie dish, cooking time will be longer and dough might get more browned, but it should still be fine!

Non-Dairy Pumpkin Pie Filling
(makes enough for 1 tart)
3 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
1/4 cup sugar
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste (optional)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ginger (optional)
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup vanilla soy milk (non-dairy)

In a large bowl, combine eggs, brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, spices, and pumpkin puree.  Mix until well combined, using a hand mixer. Add soy milk.  Mix to combine. Set aside.

Remove 1 dough ball from fridge and flour your work surface.  Roll the dough out into a large circle. Place dough over a greased tart pan and use fingers to pinch it in around the edges and bottom of the pan. Place tart shell on a baking sheet and pour pumpkin filling into tart shell almost to the top.  Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. The pie is ready when the middle is set and not jiggly.

If you have leftover pie filling and dough make mini pumpkin pies.  If you don't have leftover dough but have the filling, you can make a pumpkin bread pudding.  Pour batter over challah or bread chunks in a greased baking dish and bake for about 40 minutes.  Or you can pour pumpkin filling into greased ramekins and make pumpkin pudding by baking them for about 30-40 minutes or until firm in center.