Now Thanksgiving is coming up in the US, I see pumpkin pie recipes everywhere. In Belgium, pies like these are not very known. Carrot cake is slowly being introduced, but pumpkin pie is nowhere to be seen. So I thought; why not make one of my own!

In the US, you can simply buy canned pumpkin, whereas we have to make our pumpkin puree ourselves. It is not that hard, it just takes some time. You can easily look up online how to do it and the puree can very easily be frozen, which is what I did. I was not specifically looking for a healthy recipe, but it was the first one I bumped into and I had everything to make it, so I thought 'why not?'

The recipe calls for pumpkin pie spice, but since I did not have that I decided to use speculoos spices. Although that was also delicious, you could very easily make pumpkin pie spice yourself if you want to make it properly. I'm not exactly sure what is all in it but again, you can easily find that online. It's a very easy pie to make and you'll probably impress your guests with it, since it looks cool.

As you can tell, mine kind of looks like a volcano explosion. I'm not too sure how that comes, maybe because my crust was really thin. The pie cracked a little on several places which is not that pretty of course, but I have no idea what to do about it. I used a very large pan, so I could not make a crust on the side, which is normally the case. Also, if you use a smaller pan your pumpkin layer will be thicker. Nevertheless, this pie was very delicious.

Because I used speculoos spices, that was the most prominent taste. The pumpkin itself did not have a very overpowering taste, but I liked that. The crust was crunchy and it went perfect with the filling. I really liked this pie and will definitely make it again next year. And for 122 calories per slice, you can eat as many as you want!

Ingredients
for 1 large pie (8 pieces)

Crust

• 4 Graham Crackers (or 6 - 8 Digestive biscuits)
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 45 grams (1/2 cup) oats
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Filling

• 225 grams (1 cup) pumpkin puree
• 185 ml (3/4 cup) milk (equals 12.5 tablespoons)
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 - 1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 - 5 tablespoons agave nectar

Preheat the oven to 425°F/210°C. Combine all of the ingredients for the crust in a food processor or blender and blend until crumbly.

Pour it into a pie dish and press down firmly. You can do this with your hands, I did it with the back of a spoon. Bake for 10 minutes and let cool completely.

Combine the filling ingredients until you have reached a smooth consistency. Pour into the cooled crust.

Bake on 210°C/425°F for another 5 to 7 minutes, then turn down the heat to 175°C/350°F and let cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Let the pie cool completely before digging in. Make a cup of tea and enjoy!