Easy Vegan Desserts

• 1 Gourmet Whole-Wheat Pie Crust (recipe follows)
• 3 cups sweet potatoes, skins removed, cooked and mashed
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• non-dairy whipped topping

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Pre-bake the pie shell 10 minutes. Mix the sweet potatoes with the milk and syrup. Combine the cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and salt; stir together and then continue blending with mixer until smooth. Cut in the pecans. Place the mixture in the pie shell. Bake for 1 hour.
2. Cool and garnish with the non-dairy topping.

Gourmet Whole-Wheat Pie Crust Recipe

Makes 1 double 10-inch crust or 2 single crusts

• 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 cup white cornmeal
• 1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable margarine, melted
• 1/2 cup ice water

1. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the margarine and mix in well. Add the water and mix to a dough. Divide in half and form into two balls using your hands. Roll out on wax paper and transfer to an oiled pie pan/s.
2. Crimp the edges and, if you are placing one of the shells over a filling, aerate the top of shell 2-3 times with fork. Bake the piecrusts at 350°F until browned, about 10 minutes.

Read more: Find more of Janet Hudson’s tips for simple vegan cooking in Easy Vegan Soup Recipes, Easy Vegan Dinner Recipes and Easy Vegan Side Dish: Scalloped Rutabagas.

This excerpt has been reprinted with permission from The Easy Vegan: Over 440 Delicious Recipes and Menus for Every Day of the Year by Janet Hudson and published Hampton Roads Publishing, 2012.