Every year around Thanksgiving, I rediscover how easy it is to make vegan pies. Crisco-based pie crusts are a norm, even for butter-loving pastry chefs. Fruit pie fillings are also normally vegan. Basically, many of you are already eating your grandma’s vegan pie recipe without even knowing it!
I recently had to veganize pecan pie, and it couldn’t have been simpler. We were headed down to New Orleans, and it was made clear to me on several occasions that even our breakfast would come with a dessert course. What to do for the toddler who can’t eat dairy, egg, or soy? Well, we could have let her sit there and watch her parents, grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousin throw down bananas foster, key lime pie and pecan pie at every meal while she sat politely as the most exemplary model of two year old behavior at a white table cloth restaurant that ever was… Or I could bake her up some dessert items to bring with us on the trip so she could join in the fun.
This recipe came courtesy of a friend’s Texan grandmother; a friend who regularly returns from trips home with a suitcase full of pecan tarts to share and hoard. Yes, they are that good. And also yes, thanks to my new Texan grandma, I now know the wonders and joy of Butter-flavored Crisco.
These pecan pie tartlets came out of the oven practically falling apart in your mouth. Centers were crunchy and gooey, crust was almost immaterial as it dissolved on contact. YUM.
(The pecan pie tartlets also did quite well after a freezing and thaw cycle, too, so you could even freeze these little guys for treats throughout the year.)
Vegan Pecan Pie Tartlets
For tartlet shells:
3/4 cup Butter-Flavored Crisco
3/4 cup sugar
4 tbsp warm water
3 tsp Egg Replacer
1 tsp vanilla
2 3/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
Pecan Filling:
4 tbsp warm water
3 tsp Egg Replacer
1 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp melted Butter Flavored Crisco
2 cups whole pecans, coarsely chopped
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray mini muffin or mini tartlet pan.
First, make the tartlet shells. Mix together water and Egg Replacer until clumps disappear. Set aside.
Cream Crisco and sugar together, then add in Egg Replacer mixture and vanilla. Slowly add in flour and baking powder.
Divide mixture into balls. Roll out on floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into circles (I used a tall water glass). Press the circles into your mini tartlet pan.
Bake the tartlet shells for 6-7 minutes.
While shells are in the oven, make the pecan filling. Mix water and Egg Replacer, then add in brown sugar, vanilla, and Crisco. Then, mix in chopped pecans.
After tartlet shells come out of the oven, reduce oven heat to 350 degrees.
Fill shells with pecan filling, making sure not to over fill. Then, bake for 15-20 minutes until tops are browned.
Enjoy!
