This pumpkin pie recipe is perfect when you absolutely need a sweet treat, but don't want the guilt. Try a slice of this healthy pumpkin pie--designed to be made into 8 mini-pies, or 1 10" pie!
For the crust: Whisk together the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl.
Whisk together the oil and water (or milk), then pour over the dry ingredients. Finally, add the glace, if using.
Stir with a fork until the wet ingredients are evenly incorporated.
Lightly grease the sides of the pie tin with Colavita Olive Oil.
Pat the dough across the bottom of the pie pan and up the sides.
A note about the balsamic glace:This is optional. Glace will add a bit of sweetness, but also a touch of a bite. It’s also sticky. Glace is very thick - almost like molasses. In fact, molasses would be a good substitute if you don't have glace. You can make your own glace with balsamic vinegar. Just simmer ½ cup of balsamic vinegar on your stovetop until only ⅛ cup remains. Ta-da! Glace.
Meanwhile, make the filling: If using a sugar pumpkin, roast it in the oven. Heat your oven to 400°F. Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the guts and seeds. Hang on to the seeds to roast them later on if you like!
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place the pumpkin halves, cut sides down on the sheet. Roast for about 35 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft and the skin starts to peel away.
Remove the pumpkin from the oven and allow it to cool. Then peel away the stem and skin. Place the pumpkin meet in a large bowl and mash with a wisk.
Increase the heat of your oven to 450°F.
In a food processor or with a handheld mixer, beat the eggs and butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin purée, spices, salt and mix thoroughly.
Add the kefir (or yogurt), rum, and vanilla and mix. If the filling seems too dense, you can add more yogurt ¼ cup at a time until you achieve your desired consistency. It should look and feel like cake batter.
Assembly: Roll out the refrigerated crust on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin.
If using mini pie tins, grease them with a little cooking spray. If you're using a large pie tin or spring form pan, line it with parchment paper.
Place the rolled out dough into your pie molds. Fill the molds to the top with pumpkin filling. If you have extra dough, feel free to cut them into shapes and place these shapes on the top of the filling.
Place the pie(s) in the oven and bake at 450°F for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 °F and bake for another 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean. Sometimes this takes longer than 45 minutes.
Check on the pie every now and again. If the crust is getting too dark, place some foil around the edges to protect it from the heat. I usually have to do this, and it's not a problem.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Pumpkin pie is best when set, and in order for it to do that it needs to cool a bit.
Servings 8