Easy as Pie: Coconut Almond Graham Cracker Crust

My father-in-law's birthday was this weekend and I wanted to make him a special dessert. But I always want to put a Full Belly Sisters spin on everything, so that means I use whole grains, nuts, and as little sugar as I can get away with. Those guidelines led to the creation of this simple, delicious, non-dairy pie crust.


The coconut oil gives the crust just a hint of coconut flavor. If you've heard that coconut oil is bad for you, well, mounting evidence says that's not true. Just make sure you use virgin or extra virgin coconut oil; you can find it online or at health food stores.


Ingredients:

• 1 cup finely ground whole wheat graham crackers (if you can't find whole wheat, go for graham crackers that do not include partially hydrogenated oils)
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 2 T sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, grind graham crackers until they resemble sand. (You can also put graham crackers into a sealed plastic bag and use a rolling pin or can to crush them; this is a great job to assign your kids if they're helping with this dish!)

Add almond flour.

Combine all the dry ingredients. Drizzle with melted coconut oil and blend well, until the mixture resembles wet sand.

Press into the bottom and sides of a pie plate. I like to use a measuring cup to press and flatten the bottom...

...and my fingers to press the sides.

Bake for about 9 minutes, until the crust is golden. Your home will smell amazing at this point. Cool on a rack.

Fill with your choice of no-bake pie filling and chill. I made this delicious and easy chocolate pudding, using 71% dark chocolate. If I were using a sweeter pie filling, I'd probably just cut all the sugar from the crust.

Creamy dark chocolate pudding was the perfect balance for the crunchy pie crust.

Then I topped it with fresh whipped cream, dark chocolate shavings, and toasted sliced almonds. Yum!

Unfortunately, in the rush to get it on the table, I didn't get a great pic of the finished product.