Naughty Carbs: Low Carb Pumpkin Pie

Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday, was yesterday. But all month I have, for the first time ever, been less than excited about it. I was kind of getting down because I knew I'd have to miss out on all the traditional food we normally eat to celebrate; one of the main reasons I love the holiday so much. So after a few pathetic tears, I finally bucked up and decided I'd try to make some lower carb versions of these foods. The main one in point:

Pumpkin Pie.

I attempted to make one a couple of weeks before, and it was NO GOOD. And it aggravated me into not attempting another because it was just so far off that the recipe wasn't even worth working with.

Then, the morning of Thanksgiving, as I'm preparing the turkey and cleaning my house in anticipation of the family coming over, I gave myself a kick in the rear (if that's physically possible) and decided to give it another shot.

Oh boy, I'm so glad I did...

It rocked my world.

Even my pumpkin pie-snob husband took a bite and said, "Hey! It tastes like...pumpkin pie!"

Hallelujah!!

I ran over and gave him a big smack on the lips, I was so excited. So let me share my excitement with you now! No, I won't come to your home and kiss you...I'll just share the recipe with you.

The crust.

Low Carb Crust:

makes 1 pie crust

1/3 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup almond meal/flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vinegar

1 TBL cold water

In a bowl, combine the almond meal, flour and salt and toss with a fork. Add the coconut oil and blend it all together with a pastry blender/cutter. Make sure it's well combined. Add the vinegar and water and continue to mix with the pastry blender until well combined. Throw it into your pie dish. Don't even bother trying to roll it out...it won't work. (unless maybe you use a whole bunch of flour, but obviously the point of this is trying to scale down the carbs.) Spread it out with your fingers and press it evenly in the dish. Set aside.

UPDATED: I swapped the butter for coconut oil, making it much lower in fat, but it still tastes the same! Win-win!

The glorious filling...

Pumpkin Pie Filling:

1 15 oz. can of 100% pumpkin puree

2 eggs

1/4 cup + 2 TBL C&H light sugar (the all natural sugar & stevia blend You can find this in any grocery store in the baking section)

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. salt

a pinch of nutmeg

1/2 cup half & half

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

In a large bowl or kitchenaid, beat the pumpkin and the eggs.

In a small separate bowl, whisk the light sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt and nutmeg. Pour into the pumpkin mixture and mix well. Slowly add in the half & half and beat until well mixed.

Pour the filling into the unbaked pie crust. Bake on 425 for 15 minutes. When it's done, cover your crust (ONLY) with foil or with a pie crust shield. Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees F and bake for 35-40 minutes longer, or until a knife or toothpick come out clean from the center. Remove from oven and let cool.

UPDATED: Before, I had used whipping cream instead of the half & half. The cream almost made the filling too thick, and it also added a lot to the fat counts. With the half & half, the filling is a lot more smoother and much better for the waist line.

Top with Light Whipped Topping

UPDATED: I have started to use light whipped topping. It's lower in carbs and fat, and tastes great! But if you'd like to make your own, use 1 cup whipping cream, 1/4 cup light sugar and 1 tsp. of vanilla extract. But note that the counts just below don't include whipped cream.

For 1/10 of the pie (1 slice): 179 calories, 16.5 g carbs, 13g fat, 4g protein