Coconut Cream Pie

It’s been a while since I’ve done a recipe post! I’m making this coconut cream pie for Christmas at my mother-in-law’s this Saturday. It’s one of her favorites & it was a special request! I’m not a fan of shredded coconut, but I do like coconut. This pie is made with coconut milk & the only shredded coconut is toasted & on the side!

The Pie Crust

I make my own pie crust using a recipe I found on Once a Month Meals years ago. At one time, I had a membership to this site & it was an awesome way to help with meal planning! They currently have a wait list for membership & I signed up because I’m struggling in this area at the moment. : )

This is one recipe that was perfect as is & I haven’t made any changes to it. The recipe is listed for free, but you have to sign up for their service to get the instructions on making it. Since it’s not my recipe, I’m only sharing how I mix it & blind bake it.

I like to use my Ninja to mix all my dough. The one I have has a special plastic blade & dough button. It’s really fast & it doesn’t affect the outcome as long as you pay attention to the consistency. One thing to remember when working with pie dough is to keep everything chilled, even the bowls & utensils you use.

Once the pie dough is just right, I roll it out & put it in my pie dish. Sometimes I try to make the edges fancy, but that doesn’t always work out for me! : D

When you blind bake or pre-bake a pie shell you need to add weights to keep it from puffing up. I just use dried beans over wax paper & it works just fine! I also prick the bottom with a fork to help out too.

The baking time will depend on your recipe & oven. Just keep an eye on it to make sure the edges aren’t getting burned. You can put foil over the edges if they are browning faster than the center. This didn’t turn out as well as it could have this time…

I will say it’s because I didn’t have the vodka the recipe requires! It really does make a difference! I tried using moonshine, but that just didn’t cut it. Oh well, it still tastes good & it will be covered up with yummy filling. : D

Coconut Cream Filling

This recipe came about when my mother-in-law requested a coconut cream pie one year for her birthday. I found a recipe on All Recipes that seemed to be what I was looking for. I’ve made changes based on reading some of the comments & just experience in making it so many times!

The original recipe calls for flour and half & half, but this doesn’t always yield a firm, rich filling. Using cornstarch & a blend of canned coconut milk & heavy whipping cream gives a better tasting & firmer pie filling. Canned coconut milk can look a little weird if you open it without shaking it…

Just whisk it up with a fork & all the lumps will disappear! You can use a regular whisk if you like, but forks are so handy. : )

I add the heavy whipping cream to the canned coconut milk to make the 3 cups required. Make sure to whisk the eggs very well. This will help the blend in better. See, I do have a real whisk too! ; )

The recipe calls for dumping everything in the pan and stirring it over low heat. I find it gets smoother much faster if I whip in the cornstarch with the cream before adding it to the pan. Once it’s in the pan, I cook it at a little above medium heat. So, the highest low – if that makes any sense!

Then I stir in the sugar & eggs…

The hardest thing about making this is being patient with the stirring & keeping it at a lower heat. I usually watch YouTube videos while I stand & stir. It gets really thin & smooth first…

You’re waiting for it to thicken up & the constant stirring keeps it from scorching. Believe me, nobody wants a scorch pie filling! Sometimes it takes longer than other times because of the weather. Today was a cold, wet day & it seemed to take forever! Eventually, it started to thicken…

When it starts to stick like that, it’s time to take it off the heat & add the vanilla. You can pour it right into the pie shell after it’s all blended…

This will have to go into the fridge over night to chill & I’ll add some whipped cream to the top in the morning. Y’all this pie may not be the prettiest pie I’ve ever made, but I can guarantee there will be none left! : D