Chocolate Pumpkin Pie & the 5th Graders

Having a big, fat still-healthy pumpkin leftover from October, I decided against purchasing the easy can of pumpkin puree for my chocolate pumpkin pie for my class’s holiday breakfast. No, no no, I would process the big gourd myself! Sure, I have a whole day to kill. Sure, I love digging my fingers in wet orange stringy innards and chewing up raw pumpkin seeds, shell and all. Big yes! From first slice to puree completion took a few hours but yielded a busload of colorful puree.

And Newman O’s, I love processing them too. Mashing them to a crumbling form with my potato smasher.

The smashed cookie received some softened Earth Balance and some flour to form a delicious pie crust. Forget the store-bought hydrogenated stuff, this crust has got the Paul Newman, a la Cool Hand Luke, sexiness infused within.

Dear agar-agar, You never work for me. What’s the deal? So my pie didn’t firm up much. It was more a thick scrumptious spiced chocolate pumpkin mousse. But look how pretty!

Here my vegan chocolate pumpkin pie sits next to the other holiday party treats, slightly uncomfortable and shy. Yes, that’s a Juniors cheesecake to the right.

The chocolate pumpkin pie and the 5th graders.