Vegan Spiced Chai Pear Pie

Come most winter holidays, many expect to see an apple pie on the table, but apples aren’t the only delicious and nutritious dessert fruit. Pears are highly nutritious, aiding gut, heart, and immune health and are packed with fiber and antioxidants. This pear pie recipe is a fun twist on the traditional apple pie and a great way to introduce a new fruit to the dessert table. As an added bonus this pie is vegan so if you have vegan attendees at your holiday party you can make their holiday extra special by providing a dessert everyone can enjoy together. 

Crust Ingredients  

• 3 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 cup vegan butter cold 
• ¼ cup maple syrup 
• ¼ cup almond milk 
• ½ cup ice water 

Filling Ingredients  

• 5 pears chopped 
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil 
• ¼ cup cane sugar 
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger 
• ¼ teaspoon all spice 
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg 
• ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves 
• ⅛ teaspoon cardamom 

Instructions  

1. Start by making the crust. Using a food processor, mix 1.5 cups of flour and ½ teaspoon of salt. While it’s running, add ½ cup butter, 2 tablespoons of syrup, 2 tablespoons of milk and 4 tablespoons ice water. 
2. At this point, the dough should be in one ball; remove it and set aside.  
3. Repeat step 1 again, so you have 2 balls of dough total.  
4. Once the dough is completely made, divide them into two balls, one slightly larger than the other. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 min.  
5. Start on the filling: heat coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped pears, and sprinkle with sugar and spices.  
6. Cook pears for 5-8 minutes or until pears are soft.  
7. Remove dough from refrigerator and preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 
8. Flour the counter and roll out the larger ball of dough.  
9. Transfer dough to a greased pie pan.  
10. Pinch the edges of your crust and pour the pear filling into pie crust.  
11. Re-flour counter and roll out the second ball of dough.  Place dough on top of pear mixture and brush with coconut oil and sprinkle with sugar.  
12. Place pie in oven and bake for 15 minutes.  
13. Once 15 min have passed, reduce heat to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and bake pie for another 40 minutes until the crust is golden brown.  
14. Transfer pie to a cooling rack and allow it to cool for 1 hour before serving.