After doing something for 2 years in row, it then becomes a tradition right? If so, then I have a new (Canadian) Thanksgiving tradition to spend it with my best friend and her family, with a vegan-friendly meal complete with a healthy dose of Tofurkey and mashed sweet potato. This year I was asked to bring dessert, so I put on my inventors cap and BOOM! This is what popped out!
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/2 C Margarine, softened but not melted and cut into chunks
- 1/2 C icing sugar
- dash of salt
- 1 1/2 C AP Flour
- Juice from one lime
- 2 C cherry pie filling
- 2C lemon curd (or pie filling)
- 1/4 C margarine, chunked but not soft
- 1 C brown sugar, lightly packed
- 2 C rolled oats
- 1/4 C unsweetened coconut
- 1 capful vanilla
- 1/8c AP flour
- dash cinnamon
YOU’RE GONNA NEED:
- 2 9inch round baking dishes (I used the disposable aluminum ones)
- A big mixing bowl
- A potato masher
- Measuring cups/Measuring spoons
- Pastry bag or ziploc bag
- Scissors
- A mixing spoon (or your clean hands!)
METHOD
The way to do this is in 3 parts so I’ll break it down that way for you.
PART ONE: THE CRUST
- Mix together the first 5 ingredients (margarine, icing sugar, salt, flour, lime) by hand until you have a firm dough. You don’t want the butter to be too soft or melted, the key is a firm product the consistency of playdough. Add a bit more flour if it’s really sticky, or rinse your hands in cold water if it’s too dry and crumbly.
- Pull dough into a ball shape and cover in a bowl or with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
- Divide dough in half and press each half into each round baking dish, making sure there are no holes or very thin spots. It doesn’t matter if the crust comes up the edges a bit, that’s personal preference.
PART TWO: THE FILLING
- Take the cherry pie filling and spoon one cup of it into each round dish. Smooth it out across the dough base.
- Scoop the lemon pie filling into a pastry bag or ziploc bag and cut a medium tip in one of the corners.
- Squeeze the filling in a spiral pattern across each round baking dish, top off each dish if you have some leftover but make sure there is at least 1/2 inch space left at the top of each pan.
- Chill pans in the fridge while you make the topping.
PART THREE: THE TOPPING
- Add all remaining ingredients into the bowl. Using your hands or the potato masher, crumble everything together until it is well blended with a chunky, sandy texture. Make sure there are no large chunks of margarine/butter that aren’t coated with something.
- Add more oats or coconut if desired.
- Sprinkle half the mix on each round pan, make sure to cover as much of the filling as possible.
Bake at 325F for 30-45 minutes or until you start to smell the cinnamon and lemon. The topping will melt slightly and settle into the filling.
Serve with cool whip or on it’s own. Refrigerate unused portions as soon as possible.
CAETS TIPS:
- If you are crunched for time, you can use the pre-made pie fillings. I did when I first made this, but I found the lemon to be too sweet – I’ll be making the lemon curd from scratch next time.
- This makes a very rich dessert – one pan will feed 3-4 people. You can easily freeze the unmade dessert for a later time.
- The coconut is optional. You can substitute it for additional oats or flour if you’d like. You won’t actually taste the coconut in the recipe.