the Best Pumpkin Pie Ever

One of my favorite parts of bone broth is its dynamic uses.
Bone broth is not only great by itself or in savory dishes, but also in dessert! It sounds strange, but it’s the best way to enjoy your favorite sweets and not feel guilty. I have always considered myself a bone broth girl. I am eager to share this with you to help you get even more out of life and because I had so much fun with Heather writing this book. I know you will enjoy cooking and creating nourishing, healing meals as I have.
Hands-on prep time: 40 minutes
Total prep time: 8 hours and 40 minutes
Yield: 1 pie, approximately 8–10 servings with generous slices

Ingredients for the pie crust:
2 cups almond flour
¼ tsp. sea salt
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 egg yolk
2 Tbsp. gelled neutral bone broth (add 1tsp. powdered unflavored beef gelatin to ¼ cup bone broth if the broth you have on hand didn’t gel well)
1 tsp. ground fenugreek

Ingredients for the pumpkin pie filling:
1 (2-lb.) sugar pumpkin or butternut squash (you can bake it yourself with the instructions that follow, or feel free to substitute with canned organic pumpkin)
1 cup Medjool dates, pitted
1 (16-oz.) can coconut milk (or make your own with 1 cup water and 2½ Tbsp. coconut butter, blended thoroughly in your blender)
½ cup neutral bone broth
¼ cup honey
½ cup flax meal
¼ cup coconut oil
1 Tbsp. blackstrap molasses
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 eggs, plus1 egg yolk
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
½ tsp. cardamom
½ tsp. turmeric
1⁄8 tsp. cloves
½ tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Instructions for the pie crust:
If you want to make your own almond flour or soak your packaged almond flour (both of which are optional), follow the instructions in Chapter 9. If you have the time and interest, you might try an experiment, making one pie crust with soaked flour and one without. See how you feel afterward (notice any and all symptoms—mood and digestion), and you’ll know if it’s worth it for you! Preheat oven to 350° F.

Add the almond flour and all the other ingredients into a mixing bowl. You can do this in your food processor with the S-blade, if you have one. Mix until the batter forms a ball Press dough into a greased 9" pie dish. You can make this crust very thin—it’s actually better this way. Make sure that the edges around the outside bottom edge of the pie are thin as well (as the crust is pressed into the crease of the pie plate at the bottom). It should be about ¼" thick or so. This crust keeps its shape well and holds the pie filling beautifully.

Once your pie filling is done, pour it into the crust.

Instructions for the pumpkin pie filling:
Keep oven at 350° F. (If you’re using a glass pie plate, lower the oven temperature to 300° F.) If you’re baking your own pumpkin, the easiest way to do this is to poke about 10 holes in your sugar pumpkin (or butternut squash), put it in a baking dish with about 2" water, and bake until you can easily insert a knife into the pumpkin (or squash).

Remove from the oven, allow to cool, then cut down the middle and scoop out the seeds (you can set them aside if you want to clean them and make pumpkin or squash seeds, which are delicious!). You’ll get approximately 2 cups (give or take) of pumpkin from a 2-lb. sugar pumpkin. If you’re making your own coconut milk, do so while the pumpkin is baking, then chill for 1–2 hours so that it gets really thick.

Scoop out 2 cups of pumpkin and save any excess for another pie or a side dish for another meal. Put the pumpkin in your food processor with the S blade (you can also use a high-speed blender or mixer). Add dates and puree.

Now add the coconut milk and the rest of the ingredients and puree until fully blended; taste and see if you like it. At this point, the adventurous cook can add more dates or honey for sweetness, or more of any spice you want to emphasize, according to your taste.

Assembling and baking the pie:
Preheat oven to 425° F (reduce the heat to 375° F if you’re using a glass pie plate). Add the pumpkin pie filling into the crust you’ve already prepared, and fill right to a tad beneath the rim of the pie plate. (If you’re not using a crust, just pour the pie filling into the pan.) Put the pie in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350° F (300° F for a glass pie plate). Bake for 40–50 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool for 2 hours. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap (if we use plastic wrap, we make sure it’s tight and doesn’t touch the pie, only the plate), and refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving.

Serving suggestions:
Serve on its own or, for a real treat, add a scoop of the Moroccan Vanilla Spice Ice Cream on the side and Enjoy!