Vegan with a Vengeance

are done, remove them from the oven and let them cool. Puree in a food processor or blender. Add all other filling ingredients and puree until smooth. Pour the filling into the crust. Bake at 350°F until the center moves only slightly when pan is shaken, covering with foil if crust browns too quickly, about 40 minutes.
    While the pie bakes, prepare the topping:
    Make the topping:
    Stir the margarine, sugar, and maple syrup in heavy medium-size saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and boil for 1 minute. Mix in the nuts, coating them completely.
    Spoon the hot nut mixture over the pie. Continue baking until the topping bubbles, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Gingerbread Apple Pie
    SERVES 8-12
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    I invented this one Thanksgiving when I couldn’t choose between baking an apple pie or gingerbread, and it’s been a holiday tradition ever since, even if I don’t go to a family gathering and it’s just my husband, me, and my cats. Truth be told, I hate rolling out pie crust so the crumb topping and pressed crust is a sweet relief for me. As my sister and I say, “This is jood.” (We think pronouncing all g’s as j’s is funny; try it, you’ll see.)
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    FOR THE CRUST:
    1½ cups all-purpose unbleached flour
    Â½ cup brown sugar
    1 teaspoon ground ginger
    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    Â¼ teaspoon ground allspice
    Â½ teaspoon salt
    1 teaspoon baking powder
    Â½ cup nonhydrogenated margarine, softened
    1 tablespoon molasses
    2 tablespoons cold water
    FOR THE FILLING:
    2 pounds Granny Smith apples (about 8), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
    Â½ cup brown sugar
    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    Â¼ teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg
    Â¼ teaspoon ground allspice
    Â½ teaspoon ground ginger
    Pinch ground cloves
    Â¼ cup pure maple syrup
    1 tablespoon canola oil
    2 tablespoons tapioca starch or arrowroot
    Preheat oven to 375ºF.
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    Make the crust:
    Sift together the flour, sugar, spices, salt, and baking powder. Add the margarine one tablespoonful at a time and cut in with a pastry cutter, knife, or your
fingertips. Drizzle the molasses and water over the dough, mixing with your fingertips until the crumbs of dough begin to cling together. Set aside ½ cup of the dough. Gather together the rest of the dough and knead it into a ball. Press it evenly into the bottom and sides of a pie pan and bake for 10 minutes.
    Make the filling:
    While the crust bakes, combine in a mixing bowl all the filling ingredients except the tapioca starch. Sprinkle the tapioca over the apple mixture and mix until the starch is dissolved.
    Assemble the pie:
    Fill the pie crust with the apple mixture, and crumble the remaining ½ cup of dough over the filling. Cover with foil and bake for 20 more minutes. Remove the foil and bake 30 minutes more; the filling should be bubbling and the apples should be tender. Serve warm or at room temperature.
    PUNK POINTS
    Apple corers can be a pain in the butt, so if you hate them or don’t have one or both, just cut the apple as close to the core as you can. If you do use one, spray it with canola oil first to make it easier to get the core out of the corer once it’s cored (say that five times fast).

Pear and Cranberry Tart
    SERVES 8-12
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    This is a really pretty tart, golden pears studded with burgundy cranberries. It’s also low in sugar. Arrange the pear slices all in the same direction for a really professional look. You’ll need a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom for this recipe. If you don’t have one, you can use a pie plate.
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    FOR THE CRUST:
    Â¼ cup slivered almonds
    1 cup all-purpose flour
    Â¼ teaspoon salt
    3 tablespoons cold rice milk
    Â¼ cup canola oil
    FOR THE FILLING:
    4 Bosc pears, peeled, cored, cut in half lengthwise then sliced lengthwise into ¼-inch-thick slices
    Â¼ cup sugar
    2 tablespoons arrowroot
    1 tablespoon finely chopped crystallized ginger
    Â¼ cup fresh cranberries, sliced in half
    Â½ teaspoon almond extract
    1 tablespoon water
    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    Â½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
    Prepare the crust:
    Heat a small skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes. Place the slivered almonds in the pan and heat until golden brown, stirring often for 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a blender or food processor and pulse the toasted almonds to a fine powder.
    In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour,