What are some of your holiday traditions? Well, one tradition we always had in our family was making the famous “Christmas Pie”. It was basically a peppermint cream pie with a chocolate cookie crust and it was heavenly delicious! But how could we make a grain and dairy-filled pie even remotely AIP friendly? Well friends, after years of pining away for this delicious treat I’ve finally figured it out and the result is light, luscious, and so decadent!
The first trick was to find a near 1 for 1 replacement for heavy whipping cream and that is this heavy coconut cream! A high fat content is what allows heavy cream to become whipped cream. So this coconut heavy cream has almost the same fat content as traditional heavy cream, creating a very similar whipped coconut cream that is luscious and smooth, but not too heavy.
Tips for Making Perfect Coconut Whipped Cream:
- Refrigerate the coconut cream for at least 24 hours, or keep in the freezer for several hours, before whipping. The cold helps separate the heavy cream from the water.
- Use only the separated cream when making the whipped cream
- Store your mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for at least 5 hours before making the whipped cream.
This recipe does contain a few AIP Reintroduction foods. The Simple Mills cookies used in the crust contain almonds (phase 2), flax seed (phase 2), and chocolate (phase 1). The other ingredient that contains a reintroduction food is the peppermint flavor, which as sunflower oil (phase 1). I STRONGLY suggest using peppermint flavor instead of extract. Extract is alcohol based and can have the tendency to taste like toothpaste rather than real peppermint.
So folks, I wish you a Happy Holiday season and go indulge to your heart’s content!
Chocolate Peppermint Cream Pie (AIP-Reintro/ Paleo)
Serves: 6 – 8
Time: 30 minutes + Setting Time
Ingredients:
For Crust:
9oz packaged grain-free/ paleo chocolate cookies (I like these by Simple Mills) – (AIP Reintro/ Phase 2)
½ cup melted coconut oil
For Filling:
2 ¼ tsp gelatin
¼ cup cold water
½ tsp peppermint flavor, not extract (AIP Reintro/ Phase 1)
2 cups heavy coconut cream
2 ½ tsp pure maple syrup, divided
6 drops natural/ food based food coloring (optional)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add the chocolate cookies to a food processor and pulse until broken into a fine crumb. Add in the melted coconut oil and pulse again until combined. Press the cookie mixture into the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Bake for 8 minutes and then set aside to cool completely.
In a small measuring cup, sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water to soften and bloom and set aside. Add ½ cup of the heavy coconut cream and 1 tsp of maple syrup to a small saucepan and heat on low, stirring until completely smooth and incorporated. Remove from heat, add in the peppermint flavor and optional food coloring, stirring to combine. Note: You could also dye the coconut mixture using beetroot powder, adding until it has reached the desired deep pink color. Next, add the softened gelatin to the coconut mixture and whisk to fully combine and smooth. Set aside to cool completely to room temperature.
Add 1 ½ cups of cold coconut heavy cream and remaining 1.5 tsp of maple syrup to your frozen mixing bowl and whip until creamy. Note: It will not look like traditional whipped cream, but should be ribbon-y. Next, gently fold in the coconut-gelatin mixture and spread into the chilled or room temperature pie crust. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to set before serving.
