A Gluten-Free Chia-Spiced Goat Milk Pumpkin Pie

Do the holidays cause you to feel blue because you suffer from food intolerances and often can not eat all the delicious holiday food? I know the feeling. Dairy and gluten are two of my biggest food intolerances on a long, long list of things I am not supposed to eat. Unfortunately, I am also intolerant to coconut, making finding a dairy substitute hard for me. I was one of the lucky ones though, I can tolerate goat's milk, so that is my go-to for a milk substitute. I am thankful I found it. If you have a milk allergy, you may not be able to tolerate goat’s milk. If that is the case, substitute your favorite dairy-free ingredients.

I wanted to get this written and posted before Thanksgiving, as always, life got in the way. Though I am writing it anyway, so it will be here for you next year. Finding good gluten and dairy-free recipes can be tough! Often you have to search and search through multiple recipes just to find the one that will work for you. Then you make it for the first time, excited to taste the finished product, to be disgusted by cardboard taste. I know, I have been there too. It SUCKS! If you are like me, you then go binge on the food you are not supposed to eat and end up hating yourself afterward because your stomach is screaming at you.

Well, this Thanksgiving, I decided to try something different. I often do not celebrate Thanksgiving. When I do, I go to a local bar that puts on quite the Thanksgiving Day spread for free, and you just pay for drinks. I am a single woman, and I will not do all that cooking for myself. Plus, I would have leftovers to last for weeks. The thought of doing all of those dishes makes me sick. Why would anyone cook that much food for themselves?

Due to covid, my favorite local bar was not going to be doing their traditional Thanksgiving celebration. I was okay with that, but I still wanted a pie. So I sifted through recipe after recipe until I found some that would work for me. I combined three different recipes, so you would not have to do all that work. The pie turned out decent for being gluten-free, but the next time I bake it, there are a few things I might change. Please note, these three recipes are NOT my recipes, so I will not take credit for them. I will not write out the recipes. Instead, I am just going to link to them and tell you what I liked, what I did not like, and what I plan to change.

First, we will begin with this recipe for the gluten-free pie crust. Please note, although the recipe I am linking to is for a gluten-free pumpkin pie, I did not use the pumpkin pie filling recipe, only the recipe for the crust. Here is the link: https://www.glutenfreepalate.com/gluten-free-pumpkin-pie/

This recipe was easy to follow and easy to make. There are a couple of changes that I did have to make. The recipe calls for half a cup of butter, but I chose to substitute goat's butter. If you need a dairy-free substitute, the recipe suggests using a dairy-free butter substitute and any dairy-free milk. The recipe calls for three to four tablespoons of cold milk but states you may have to use more. I did have to use five tablespoons and then add just a little bit more flour. I did not measure out the additional flour. I just added a pinch at a time until the dough was my desired solidity. As for the taste of this pie crust after baking, it is not your typical pie crust. However, it is a good substitute for being gluten-free. It tastes pretty good and not like sawdust or cardboard. Which is how gluten-free options often taste to me.

Next, let us move on to the pumpkin pie filling. I wanted to try something new. I had previously come across this Chia-Spiced Goat Milk Pumpkin Pie recipe, I decided to give it a whirl. As far as taste, it does taste good. However, it was hard to mix and bake. I will link to the recipe now then I will discuss what I plan to change if I make this pie again. Here is the link to the original recipe: https://meyenberg.com/recipes/chai-spiced-goat-milk-pumpkin-pie

The recipe calls for one and a half cups of pumpkin puree. I have read that a fifteen ounce can of pumpkin is about two cups of puree. When I measured it out, I found that I needed about a can and a fourth to get the one and a half cups the recipe said to use. Next year though, I may try to use just a fifteen ounce can of organic pumpkin to avoid having pumpkin puree leftovers. Thankfully my dog LOVES pumpkin, so the leftover pumpkin has become my dogs' special treat for the next few days. This recipe does call for a tablespoon of all-purpose flour. I substituted for gluten-free all-purpose flour. If you need a dairy-free option, I would suggest you use full-fat coconut milk, which is what the author of the recipe I used for the crust said to use in her pie filling.

Where I got into trouble with the pumpkin pie filling recipe is the mixing. I followed this recipe exactly. It said to add the eggs, maple syrup, and goat’s milk, then to add the flour and spices. When I did it this way, everything seemed to separate, and it did not mix well. Usually, I follow the recipe on the back of the can of organic pumpkin for my pie filling, which states to mix the spices into the pumpkin before adding the eggs and milk. That is what I will change if I make this recipe again. I will add the flour and spices to the pumpkin puree and mix well before adding the syrup, milk, and eggs. The recipe also calls for a cup of whole goat’s milk, which is what I used. Though, the recipe on the back of the can of pumpkin says to use evaporated milk. Now they do make evaporated goat’s milk, though it is unsweetened. It is odd, making it more like condensed milk instead. Evaporated and condensed milk or almost identical. The difference being evaporated milk is typically sweetened, whereas condensed milk is unsweetened. Although evaporated goat’s milk is unsweetened, I would not suggest adding additional sugar. I think the maple syrup in the recipe will sweeten it enough. That would be something I change in this recipe if I make it again. I will be trying it with a cup of evaporated goat’s milk instead of whole goat’s milk. It took much longer to bake this pie filling than the recipe suggested, and I think changing the type of milk may help.

The recipe suggested you bake the pie at 350 degrees for an hour, or until the center of the pie can be poked with a fork and come out clean. I baked this pie for much longer than an hour because it was not close to done when my timer went off. I can not tell you exactly how much longer it took to bake because I did not pay attention. I just kept checking it every five minutes or so. Doing this was both frustrating and time-consuming. I would not suggest doing it this way. These are the changes I plan to make when baking the next time. In hopes, it does not take as long, and maybe the crust will not be so hard. I did cover the pie with foil for the first thirty minutes to prevent the outside crust from becoming too dark. I fully intend to do that again. Though, instead of baking for an hour at 350 degrees. I am instead going to follow the recipe on the back of the can of pumpkin. It suggests that you bake for fifteen minutes at 425 degrees, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees, baking for an additional thirty-five to forty minutes. I am going to follow this suggestion but bake for a full forty-five minutes at 350 degrees.

Finally, let us get to the dairy-free, coconut free, gluten-free whipped topping. That was easy to make, and it tastes pretty good, even though it tastes a little like candy and is not your typical whipped cream flavor. Here is the link to this recipe: https://www.noracooks.com/vegan-whipped-cream/ I did not have to change a single thing in this recipe. I was not familiar with the cream of tarter the recipe said to use. I had to ask for help locating it in the store. It is a white powder, and you can find it in the spice aisle. I did google it to verify it is gluten-free. Despite the name, it is dairy-free too. I did not check how to store and stored it in the fridge. It did not hold overnight. I was able to re-whip, though it was not nearly as creamy and fluffy as it was the first time. The recipe suggests storing it in the freezer and using it frozen if you are unable to use it the same day, which is what I will be trying next time. I am watching my sugar intake, so I did only use half a cup of powdered sugar.

Phew, just writing this article exhausted me! Cooking and baking for food intolerances is tough! That is why I hope this article helps you out next time you want to make a gluten and, or dairy-free pumpkin pie. If your food intolerance issues are not severe enough to cause a severe reaction from a slice or two of pie, I would suggest you eat the regular pumpkin pie that someone else baked. Though if you want to eat an entire pie by yourself, this recipe will fulfill your craving without causing you to get sick.

I am currently in the process of making a video about this pumpkin pie for my YouTube channel. The video is nowhere near ready yet, and I do not know when I will upload the video. I have a bunch of editing to do. Though if you would like to watch, please find me on YouTube. My name on there is also Kayla Nicole 999, and I plan on creating many more recipes for those suffering from food intolerances. Though please note, recipe videos are not all I upload. I discuss everything that makes me, me on this channel. One of those things is working as an entertainer in the adult entertainment industry. If that is something that offends or upsets you, maybe my youtube channel is not for you. Or you can go there only for my recipe videos. I will leave that decision up to you.