Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake With Cinnamon Sugar Oatmeal Pie Crust Food

OATMEAL PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Generously grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan with vegan butter or coconut oil. Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Place oats, flour, cinnamon, sugar, and salt together in a food processor or blender. Pulse until the oats resemble a course flour consistency.
• Cut the cold vegan butter into cubes and add that to the food processor with the course oat flour mixture. Pulse in short bursts until the fat is distributed throughout.
• Add the water, one tablespoon at a time, and pulse until the dough is moist. You should be able to pinch it between your fingers and it holds its shape. If not, add another tablespoon of cold water and pulse again. I find 3 tablespoons works best.
• Press the dough into a pie pan, pressing it up against the sides of the pan. Place the pie pan in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes, to allow the crust to chill.
• After the pie has chilled. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake the crust for 10-15 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completey. Then fill with your favorite pie filling.

VEGAN PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a 9-inch pie plate or springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Drizzle in the oil or melted margarine. Use a spoon to blend the mixture thoroughly to moisten the crumbs, then drizzle in the soy milk and stir again to form a crumbly dough.
• Pour the crumbs into the pie plate or springform pan. Using your fingers or a flat-bottom cup, press crumbs into the the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until firm. Let the crust cool before filling.
• Make the topping: In a mixing bowl, use a fork to mash together brown sugar, margarine and salt until crumbly, then fold in the chopped nuts and stir to coat with the mixture. Set aside until ready to use.
• Meanwhile, prepare the filling: Drain the cashews and blend with the banana, tofu, sugar, brown sugar, coconut oil, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla and orange extracts, and sea salt. Blend until completely smooth and no bits of cashew remain. Add the pumpkin purée, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and blend until smooth, then pour it onto the crust.
• Bake the cheesecake for 45 to 50 minutes, removing the cheesecake halfway through the baking period to sprinkle on the topping. Return to oven to continue baking. Cheesecake will be done when the top is lightly puffed and the edges of the cake are golden. Remove it from the oven and let cool on a rack for 20 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator to complete cooling, at least 3 hours or, even better, overnight. To serve, slice the cake using a thin, sharp knife dipped in cold water.

VEGAN PUMPKIN PIE

Steps:

• For the crust: Put the flour, sugar, vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor, and pulse to combine. Add the coconut oil in small spoonfuls, and pulse until the largest pieces are pea-sized. Add 4 tablespoons ice water, and pulse until evenly combined. Squeeze a handful of the dough together; it should just hold its shape. If the mixture is too powdery, pulse in an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons ice water. Turn the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap, pat into a 1/2-inch-thick disc and chill for at least 1 hour up to overnight.
• To make rolling easier, let the dough soften up a bit-it should be slightly soft when pressed-at room temperature (this may take anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes depending on the temperature of your kitchen). Roll the disc into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface or between two pieces of floured parchment paper. If the dough gets too warm, refrigerate it to firm it up. Ease the crust into a 9-inch pie plate. Fold the overhanging dough under itself, and crimp the edge as desired. Chill for 30 minutes.
• Position an oven rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line the chilled pie crust with a large coffee filter or foil, and fill with pie weights. Bake until the edges are lightly golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the coffee filter or foil and weights, and continue baking until the crust is lightly golden all over, 15 to 20 minutes more. Transfer to a rack, and let cool completely.
• For the filling: Process the pumpkin puree, tofu, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a food processor until completely smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Pour the filling into the parbaked pie shell, and bake until firm and set, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack. Chill for at least 2 hours up to overnight. Slice and serve.

VEGAN PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Combine tofu, cream cheese substitute, agave, cornstarch, lemon juice, and vanilla in a food processor and puree until completely smooth. It should be silky smooth, not chalky or lumpy.
• Remove a heaping cup of this mixture from the processor and spread it in the bottom of the crust.
• Add pumpkin, brown sugar, rum, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg to the ingredients remaining in the food processor and process until well blended. Smooth it carefully over the white layer in the crust, heaping it slightly in the middle.
• Bake until the center is almost set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate before serving until completely chilled, at least 3 hours.