This is a pie for coconut lovers with coconut in the crust, the filling, and the topping. If there is such a thing as too much coconut, make the pie and save the coconut crust for a banana cream pie, a peach pie, a pineapple pie, or . . . .
Dennis Weaver
What you’ll need:
For the crust:
1 cup shredded coconut
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 cup just-add-water pie crust mix
3 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon butter rum flavor
3 tablespoons sugar
Mix the coconut and sugar with the pie crust mix. Add the water to the flavor and then stir both in. Stir with a fork to form a dough ball.
- Roll out the dough and form the crust in a standard nine-inch pie pan. Form a decorated edge that also acts as a dam to reduce spills. (See picture for a recommended edge.)
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line the pie shell with parchment paper and lay pie weights over the lining. Bake for twelve minutes. Remove the paper and weights and bake for another ten minutes or until it just starts to brown. Remove the pie crust and let it cool.
For the filling:
2/3 cups sugar
a pinch of salt
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 3/4 cup milk
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons Madagascar or Indonesian vanilla
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
Place the sugar, salt, and cornstarch in a medium saucepan and stir together. Add the milk and egg yolks and whisk together.
- Cook and stir over low heat until the mixture comes to a boil and then one minute longer.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Stir in the coconut.
- Let the filling cool for 15 minutes. Spread the filling in the baked pie shell.
While the filling is cooling, toast an additional 1 1/4 cup of coconut by spreading it onto a baking sheet and putting it in the oven at 400 degrees. Stir it often until it browns to the desired amount, eight minutes or less. Sprinkle the toasted coconut over the pie filling. Chill before serving. Top with a dollop of whipped cream.