A vegan s'mores cream pie: all of the goodness of s'mores in pie form. You can make your own crust, using the included recipe, or you can use store-bought. Do what works best for your time budget!
1 ½cupsvegan graham crackers crumbs(You can make them by putting vegan graham crackers in the blender. Watch out for honey and whey on the graham cracker label. From what I saw at the store, the cheaper ones tend to be vegan.)
6tablespoonsvegetable shortening
¼cupbrown sugar
Instructions
Make the Pie
Combine the dates and cashews in a large bowl, and cover with boiling water. Let them soak for 20 minutes, then drain.
Transfer the dates, cashews, margarine, water, cocoa powder, and vanilla into your blender. Puree until you have a really nice, smooth mixture. A high speed blender with a tamping tool to push everything down toward the blade is really ideal for this recipe. You can use a regular blender, but you have to really stick with it. Blend, scrape down the sides, and repeat until you get a nice, smooth mixture.
Spread the chocolate mixture into the graham cracker crust, and arrange the marshmallows all over the top, patting the marshmallows gently, so they get a little bit stuck in the chocolate filling.
Stick the whole thing into the freezer for two hours or refrigerate overnight – your choice!
At this point, you have three options:Option 1: Serve now, with the marshmallows as-is. This is totally respectable.Option 2: Use a kitchen torch to brown the marshmallows for extra melty, s’mores-y goodness. Let the pie cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.Option 3: Use your oven’s broiler to brown your vegan s’mores cream pie. If you use the broiler, keep the oven door open, and watch those marshmallows like a hawk. I set one s’mores pie on fire in my broiler, and it was not fun. Don’t be like me! Supervise, and as soon as you see some browning, turn off the oven, and pull out your pie. Cool completely before serving.
Make the Graham Cracker Crust
Preheat the oven to 350F.
If you bought whole graham crackers, stick 12 of them in the blender until they become crumbs. Definitely break them up a bit before putting them into the blender. Whole sheets of graham cracker took FOREVER to blend, but broken pieces were much faster.
In a large bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, margarine, and brown sugar. Use a fork or an electric mixer on medium speed to combine until you have a sticky dough.
Dump the dough into a 9" pie tin, and press it down, making sure it goes up the sides. You want to get it as even as you can. I found that covering the pan and dough in wax or parchment paper, then pressing the paper down worked best. No dough sticking to your fingers, and you get a nice, smooth result.
Bake for 14 minutes on the middle oven rack, then pull it out to cool. Make sure it’s completely cooled before you add the chocolate filling. You can even make it the night before and refrigerate, covered in foil, overnight.
Notes
You can totally make this recipe ahead! If you want to save yourself some work on the day you’re planning to serve this pie, make the crust and filling, and instead of sticking the filled crust in the freezer, refrigerate it overnight. Then, all you have to do day-of is top with vegan mallows and broil.