Snicker's Pie (Vegan, Gluten Free & Refined Sugar Free)

Yes, you read that title right - this pie is totally vegan, gluten free and refined sugar free! And it is good! I might sound a little wild but I love this recipe that much! I made this pie to serve as dessert at Easter dinner and everyone loved it! Even little Bean who is sick of me using dates to sweeten everything! Nobody asked any questions! It was just dessert and everyone at Easter dinner loved it! I'm calling that a big win! And I just know I will making this recipe over and over again in the future! I got this recipe from a blog called Sprouted Routes; you can find the original HERE.

Before we get started, I should mention  one quick thing -  make this recipe the day before you are planning to serve it! The pie needs to sit in the freezer overnight, so you will need to assemble the pie the day before you serve it. I love recipes that prepare the day before - anything to take things off of my to do list for the day of!

There are a few little changes you could make to this recipe (mostly in your choice of nuts and nut butter). I will share the recipe exactly how I made it with pictures as I usually do, but below when I list the ingredients and the directions, I will detail the little changes you could make. And as usual, if you have questions, let me know! I will do my best to help you out! 

Start with the bottom layer - Add 12 pitted Medjool dates, 5 Tablespoons of cocoa powder, 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt, 1 cup of walnuts, 1 cup of unsweetened dried coconut and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the bowl of your food processor. Process these ingredients together until they are well combined and stick together easily. You should be able to mold the dough at this point.

Remove the crust dough from the food processor and transfer it to a 9'' pie plate lined with parchment paper. I lined my pie plate with parchment because the dough is sticky but I pulled the parchment out before I photographed and served the pie. I recommend leaving the parchment lining on your pie plate while you freeze the pie and if anything, you can remove it before you serve it!

Press the crust into the pie plate. This was the most labor intensive part and it was still easy as can be! I love how easy this pie is! Once the crust is pressed in to line the pie plate, put it in the freezer to solidify while you make the caramel layer!

You may notice that I trimmed my parchment paper - purely for practicality reasons! I find it easier to work with a pie when there isn't parchment flailing all over.

Before you can make the caramel layer, you'll need to soak 10 Medjool dates in boiling water for 10 minutes. I started this as I was finishing the crust layer to reduce my wait time. I simply pitted the dates, then put them all in a glass measuring cup and filled the measuring cup with boiling water just until the dates were covered.

Once the dates have soaked for 10 minutes, drain them and add them to the bowl of the food processor. Guess what!? I didn't wash my food processor between each layer - ha! This is prime laziness but I hate doing dishes especially if I'm going to dirty those very dishes again in a matter of seconds! Do as you will here, but I won't tell anyone if you keep reusing the food processor without rinsing it!

So, all of your dates should be in the food processor and you will need to add in 3 teaspoons of ghee (I wish I knew how to explain what ghee was to you, but I just know that it is butter that is altered somehow to remove the allergens. We buy it from our local health food store), 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 3 tablespoons of cashew butter. Process all of these ingredients together until they combine into a smooth caramel. You may have to scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure the caramel is as smooth as possible.

Remove your pie crust from the freezer and fill it with the caramel. Spread the caramel around to cover the crust layer - I went up the sides of the pie as well. Once the caramel is spread, pop the pie back in the freezer and get to work on the mousse filling.

For this part of the pie, you will need 2 cans of full fat coconut milk that have been refrigerated overnight. When the coconut milk is refrigerated overnight, all of the coconut cream separates from the coconut water and rises to the top. Scrape out the thick, white coconut cream and put it in the food processor. The coconut cream will take up the majority of the can - there will be a very little but of coconut water left at the bottom (you could save this to use in a smoothie!).

Once you've separated the coconut cream and added it to the bowl of the food processor, you will also need to add in 3/4 cup of cashew butter, 2 Tablespoons of maple syrup, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and a pinch of sea salt. Process everything together until it is a light mousse.

Once again, pull the pie out of the freezer and spread the mousse over the caramel layer. When the mousse layer is evenly spread over the pie, put the pie back in the freezer. I should quickly mention - my structured spatula was my best friend as I was making this pie! It makes scraping out the food processor so easy and works so well to spread the caramel and the mousse. And no, I didn't wash my spatula between each layer either. I promise, I do dishes (and I'm meticulous when I wash dishes) but I try to avoid them wherever I can!

This next step is optional but I love how the pie looked with the chocolate drizzled over the top. Melt about 1/4 cup of dark chocolate with about 1 teaspoons of coconut oil. I used 5 squares of 70% dark chocolate with a little coconut oil. Melt the chocolate in the microwave for 20 second increments, stirring between each session in the microwave until the chocolate is smooth and completely melted.

Use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the top of the pie. I drizzled the chocolate on in circles, but you could do this however you choose to! Once your chocolate is drizzled, put the pie back in the freezer and let it freeze overnight. I covered my pie with plastic wrap once the chocolate had frozen.

Take the pie out about 10 minutes before you need to cut it to serve. You will need a sharp knife to cut it and it seems daunting at first (maybe just to me! Cutting pie is not one of my favorite things!). But once you get going it's super easy!

SNICKER'S PIE (Vegan, Gluten Free & Refined Sugar Free)
yield one 9'' pie

ingredients 
for the crust...
12 Medjool dates, pitted
5 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup of nuts (walnuts, cashews, pecans, almonds...)
1 cup unsweetened dried coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the caramel...
10 Medjool dates, pitted & soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes
3 teaspoons ghee (or coconut oil)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons nut butter (peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter...)

for the nut butter mousse... 
2 cans full fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight (you only need the coconut cream)
3/4 cup nut butter (peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter...)
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch sea salt

for the chocolate drizzle... (optional)
1/4 cup dark chocolate
~1 teaspoon coconut oil

directions
for the crust...
1. Add the dates, the cocoa powder, the sea salt, your choice of nuts, the unsweetened dried coconut and the vanilla extract to the bowl of a food process. Process all of the ingredients together until they are well combined and beginning to hold together.
2. Line a 9'' pie plate with parchment paper. Transfer the crust to the pie plate and press it down to cover the pie plate and form a crust.
3. Once the crust is pressed down, put the pie plate int he freezer and start the caramel layer.
 
for the caramel...
1. Pit the 10 dates and put them in a glass measuring dish. Fill the measuring dish with boiling water to cover the dates. Let the dates sit int he boiling water for 10 minutes,
2. Drain the dates and add them to the bowl of the food processor along with the ghee, the vanilla extract and your nut butter of choice.
3. Process everything together until it is very smooth.
4. Remove the pie plate from the freezer and spread the caramel over the crust layer. Once the caramel layer has been added, put the pie plate back int he freezer.

for the nut butter mousse... 
1. Leave the coconut milk to sit in the fridge overnight. When you open the can, scrape the coconut cream off of the top. It will be easy to differentiate the cream from the water - the cream will be significantly thicker and white.
2. Add the coconut cream to the food processor (and discard the water or save it for a smoothie) along with your nut butter of choice, the maple syrup, the vanilla extract and the sea salt.
3. process everything together until it forms a light and whipped mousse.
4. Remove the pie plate from the freezer and top the caramel layer with this nut butter mousse.
5. When the mousse layer is added, return the pie to the freezer.

for the chocolate drizzle...
1. Add the dark chocolate and coconut oil to a microwave safe dish and microwave them for 20 second increments. Stir well between each session in the microwave.
2. Use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the pie.
3. Freeze the pie overnight. Take the pie out 10 minutes before you are planning to serve it to let it thaw.
 
I'm hosting a tea party for my friends in May and I'm brainstorming ways to turn this pie into a mini bar or mini cupcake. That way, I can out it out on tiered trays for dessert. Of course I'll keep you updated!

See you tomorrow with my favorites from this week (spoiler alert - it's really just me bragging on Starbucks' pink drink)!