lemon coconut pie with gingersnap crust
i drew from a few recipes and a little common sense to create this treat.
crust:
- 2 heaping cups of vegan gingersnap cookies
- half a stick of vegan margarine (earth balance!) or 4 Tbsp, melted
preheat the oven to 325°. pulse the cookies in a food processor until broken into sandy bits; add the melted margarine and blend a few seconds more. alternatively, for a more visceral crust-making experience, you can put the cookies in a plastic bag and smash the shit out of them with some heavy object, i.e., a mason jar, a wine bottle, not the cat (she’s not that heavy or cooperative), a rolling pin—go craaazy! them put your victim into a bowl, add the melted margarine, and stir it up.
turn the cookie mixture into a 9-inch pie pan. i sort of greased mine with the wrapper from the stick of e.b., but the crust is pretty greasy, so i think that step was unnecessary. smush the mixture into the pan until you achieve a relatively even crust, and pop that sucker into the oven for 12-15 minutes. remove and cool on a rack.
filling:
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1 can coconut milk, plus half a can of water
- a scant 3/4 cup of vegan granulated sugar (don’t buy sugar is bleached using animal bones! yuckcity, population: YOU.)
- a dash of salt
- the zest and juice of one lemon
sift the cornstarch into a saucepan. add about half of the can of stirred coconut milk and whisk vigorously to incorporate the chalky cornstarch. then, add the rest of the milk, water, sugar, and salt and give it a good whisking before adding the lemon zest and juice. heat this slowly on medium-low heat until it just begins to boil and has thickened significantly. make sure to stir very frequently!
once you’ve reached a nice, creamy consistency, remove the pan from the heat, grab your lovely crust, and carefully pour the lemony coconut mixture into the crust. smooth off the top with a spatula (it’s all about looks, obvi) and allow your pie to cool for 5 or 10 minutes before putting it in the fridge to and set up for a few hours. you can garnish the center with some slivered lemon rind if you’re feeling fancy, which i was.
hooray, pie! i’m going to try this with limes next time.
