Pumpkin Spice Drink and Pumpkin Pie Bites

Don’t you just love pumpkin spice season… I mean the FALL season?

The apple orchards and pumpkin patches, warmed cider and cocoa?

It’s the season when you see people coming out of coffee shops, savoring those yummy looking pumpkin flavored drinks.  But what if you have a food allergy, sensitivity or other intolerance to the ingredients?  Does that mean you can’t enjoy the flavors of the season?  No Way!  With this recipe, you’ll be curled up with a cup of warm pumpkiny goodness in no time and you’ll savor every sip – even if you don’t have any food allergies or sensitivities.

In the U.S., the number one food allergen is milk and, according to the Center for Food Allergies, nearly two-thirds of the world’s adult population has some degree of difficulty digesting lactose.  If you are not among the lactose intolerant, then you can use regular milk in this recipe.  But for the lactose intolerant (and caffeine sensitive, and those wishing to cut back on processed white sugar, etc..) this drink is for YOU!

Here are the ingredients:

From left to right:  Honey, Soyatoo brand non-dairy whipped topping, Organic pumpkin pie mix, Almond Breeze almond milk, and molasses.

Recipe:

4 cups almond milk

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup pumpkin pie mix

1 Tablespoon molasses

1 & 1/2 teaspoons honey

(Makes 2 servings)

Whisk all ingredients together in a saucepan over medium heat until warmed to your preference.  Serve it up plain or add some whipped topping.  Soyatoo is one dairy free option.  It is soy based and since soy is one of the most highly genetically modified crops, look for “GMO free” or “Non-GMO” as clearly marked on the label below.  Once again, if dairy is not a problem for you, then use whatever whipped topping you prefer.

Now add a sprinkle of cinnamon and a cinnamon stick to make it extra fun and fancy.    Mmmmmm!

Now all this cozy drink needs is a tasty treat to accompany it.  The good news is, you have just enough pumpkin pie mix left over to make some sweet, gooey, mini pumpkin pie bites.

See?  Just enough filling left over!  So now let’s make the world’s simplest pie crust.  Here’s what you’ll need:

Combine 1/2 cup almonds  with 1/2 cup pecans (heaping 1/2 cup amounts- don’t be shy!) along with 10-12 medjool dates, pits removed.  Process the ingredients together in a food processor on high until they pull away from the sides of the container and become like a ball of dough as you can see below:

Don’t worry if some of it is crumbly like you can see along the bottom.   This is ready to go.  Pinch off a small amount and press into the molds of a mini muffin tin.  If you don’t have a mini muffin tin, just roll small balls and place onto wax paper.  Then make an indent in the ball so it looks like a thumbprint cookie.  Here’s what the muffin tin option looks like:

I tried some with mini cupcake liners and some without.  FYI – It’s cleaner and easier to remove the mini pies if you use the liners.  Just press the pie crust “dough” into the molds until they take on a little bowl shape and try not to eat all the dough before you’ve finished!  It’s highly addictive, ooey and gooey and so delicious.  In fact, you could just put the dough between two sheets of wax paper, roll over it with a rolling pin, remove the top layer of wax paper and cut the dough into squares and store in the refrigerator for a super healthy snack.  But for the sake of using all our leftover pumpkin pie mix, let’s complete the recipe…

 People tend to have different preferences for the temperature of pie.  Some like it chilled, while others prefer it room temperature or warmed.   For warm mini pies, simply stir the pumpkin pie mix over low heat in a saucepan before spooning into crusts and serve immediately.  For room temperature, spoon filling straight from the can and for chilled, spoon from the can with the final product placed in the refrigerator or freezer for 30-60 min.  This recipe yields 24 mini pies.

Serve them plain…  Or with a dollop of whipped cream and cinnamon.

For the printable version of the Pumpkin Bites recipe, CLICK HERE!

Make these treats for your friends and family and be prepared to whip up a second batch when they quickly disappear!

See other food sensitive recipes like this one as well as tips on natural health on my website,

Natural Girl Diary.