Primal Pumpkin Pie

So.  When I was like 8 I had a slice of pumpkin pie, and ended up throwing up later that night, which led me to an aversion of pumpkin pie for about 20 years.

A few years back, it was Thanksgiving at Nana's house and my Aunt Karen made a pumpkin pie from scratch (meaning with pumpkins she grew in her garden, yeah, she's hardcore like that).  OMG.  AMAZING.  Sadly, because there were more people there, I couldn't eat the whole pie.  But I was introduced to what I had been missing out on for the past 20 years.

Earlier this year I got a case of canned pumpkin on Amazon and I've only used 3 cans and I've been wondering what to do with them.  Pair that with the book club I have to go to tonight and I set out to the internet to find an answer to my dilemma.

Enter my take on pumpkin pie, at least the filling.  Or you could easily call it pudding, or maybe even a custard.  Whatever you want to call it is up to you.

• 1 15 ounce can of pumpkin puree (use the pumpkin, not the pumpkin pie filling, it's loaded with sugar!)
• 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk (I used the Trader Joes brand-did you know they are carrying quarts of coconut milk alongside the almond, rice and soy milk?!  Well they are, and I had about a cup left to use, but I'm sure you could use canned coconut milk all the same)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients and beat with a mixer on low under blended and smooth.

Pour into your baking vessel of choice (I used a 2 quart souffle dish) and place that in a roasting pan filled halfway with water and bake in a preheated to 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes and check to see if the center is set, if not, keep checking every 10-15 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.  I had to bake mine for nearly an hour, but if you use a dish that's not as deep, you'll obviously bake it less.

This was a big hit at book club, came home with two small slices :)  See, just because it's primal, it's still delicious!