Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie (Paleo)

slice of apple butter pumpkin pie

What can I make with apple butter? It’s a question I found myself asking myself… right after making this awesome apple butter. Don’t get me wrong, apple butter is amazing on its own (or spread on absolutely anything), but wouldn’t it be cool to make something with it? Enter Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie.

This paleo apple butter pumpkin pie is a beautiful orangey-red color and the texture is spot on for a creamy yet sturdy pie. The crust is nutty and a little salty which helps bring out some of the sweetness in the filling. When you make this crust, you’ll need to spend a few minutes gently moulding it to your pie pan. Bake the crust for a few minutes to help it firm up, then add your filling before putting it back into the oven.

pie filling yuuum

When you mix the filling ingredients together, make sure to add your eggs last. This way you can taste your filling to make sure it’s as sweet as you’d like. All apple butters are different, so if yours isn’t very sweet, you’ll want to add more sweetener. This is a pie after all – it should be sweet, so adjust according to your taste. You can use maple syrup, honey, coconut sugar – whatever you want. If you use maple syrup – just make sure you don’t over-do it. It’s consistency isn’t as thick as honey.

It’s crazy how cheap apples are when they’re in season. I spent 3 dollars on TWO organic apples at the grocery store a couple months ago. Now, I can get a 5.5 pound bag of apples (1/2 peck) for just 5 bucks at the farmer’s market.

I love apples. But I hate listening to people eat apples. It’s like listening to nails on a chalkboard, but worse. I have no idea why but listening to people munch on apples drives me sort of nuts. I like eating apples myself, but I like to do it privately. I get anxious eating them in front of others… what if they’re bothered by the noise too? I mean, you can’t quietly eat an apple; it’s just not possible.
We normally cook apples in our house. Not just because they’re noisy to eat – mainly because my hubs is allergic to them, unless they’re cooked. Sometimes when I make fresh green juice, I’ll test him by adding a couple peeled apples for sweetness. Normally he’s fine. Well, I recently gave him a glass of freshly pressed apple juice… let’s just say it didn’t go over well – at all. No more apple juice at our house.

apple butter pumpkin pie

This apple butter pumpkin pie is sweet and a little tart. It’s creamy with some crunch from the slightly salty crust. And it’s definitely a different take on your average pumpkin pie.

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Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie (Paleo)

Author: Ashley Thomas

 

Ingredients

• Pie crust:
• 2 cups almond flour
• 2 tablespoons ghee
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 egg
• Apple Butter Pumpkin Filling
• 1 cup apple butter (make sure it’s thick and not runny)
• 1 cup fresh or canned pumpkin
• 1 cup coconut milk, full fat
• 2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 2 teaspoon arrowroot powder
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup, adjust to taste
• 3 eggs, whisked
• Optional Garnish: coconut whipped cream (made with the fat of top of 1 can of coconut milk - see directions below)

Instructions

1. Crust
2. Preheat oven to 350F.
3. Combine all ingredients and form into a ball.
4. Place dough on 9-inch pie or tart pan - this will take several minutes to form.
5. Poke dough with fork before putting in oven
6. Bake at 350 for 5 minutes (you'll bake this longer once you add the filling).
7. Filling
8. Combine the apple butter, pumpkin, spices and coconut milk. Taste and then adjust amount of sweetener (if needed).
9. Whisk arrowroot in a teeny tiny bit of cold water (~1-2 tsp) to remove clumps then add it to the mixture along with the eggs. Stir well.

Assemble and Bake

1. Pour the filling into the pie crust.
2. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes or until the middle of the pie is mostly set. Do the knife or toothpick test - the toothpick should be mostly clean.
3. Cool the pie to room temp and let it set in the fridge for a couple hours before slicing and serving.

Coconut Cream Garnish

1. Place can of coconut cream in fridge for several hours or overnight.
2. Open can and take off the thick coconut cream on the top.
3. Put cream in a bowl, add sweetener and beat the cream until it forms peaks (I used my Kitchenaid but you can use a handbeater).

Notes

Make sure your apple butter is thick. If it’s too too watery or runny then your pie may not set properly.

Also, if you use maple syrup as a sweetener (I do because I love maple and apples), just be sure not to over-do it. Maple syrup has a thinner consistency than honey or coconut sugar.