3 Yummy Recipes for Coconut Cream Pie

Then you'll love homemade vanilla pudding slathered in whipped cream & sprinkled with coconut.

When I was a child, my grandmother Bess would serve delicious meals for the whole family after church on Sundays. As we'd trail into her small house that smelled of warm homemade bread, she'd tell each of us, "I made this just for you!" and point to a special dish.

Meals usually began with sweet tea and hot cloverleaf rolls (made just for me) and ended with a homemade pie (made just for my father). Sometimes the pie was apple, sometimes it was chocolate, but more often than not she served coconut cream pie.

Three of her recipes follow. Use the first one. (It was Mamaw Bess's favorite.) Or try one of the tasty variations. Each coconut cream pie is scrumptious--and they're all just for you!

Ingredients

• 1/3 C. flour or 1/4 C. cornstarch
• 2/3 C. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 C. scalded milk
• 3 egg yolks
• slightly beaten
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 baked pie shell
• whipped cream
• 1/2 C. shredded coconut

Get a plate.

Directions

Mix together the first three ingredients, then add the milk. (If you're not sure how to scald milk, watch the video below from Taste of Home. Scalding milk is easy, and it will help the sugar in this recipe dissolve well, making the creamy filling that much creamier.)

Cook the milk mixture over moderate heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes until it thickens and boils. Remove from heat. Slowly add yolks. (If you add them too quickly, they'll scramble!)

Cook 1 minute more to thicken, then stir in butter and vanilla. Pour into baked pie shell. Cover in plastic wrap and chill. Top with sweetened whipped cream and sprinkle with 1/2 C. coconut.

Variation 1
Add 1 C. shredded coconut to filling. Sprinkle 1/2 C. coconut on whipped topping.

Variation 2
Cool filling. Stir in 1/2 C. crushed pineapple. Pour into crust and chill. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with 1/2 C. coconut.

Whatever you do, don't ruin Mamaw Bess's pie by topping it with whipped cream out of a tub or a can. Make your own!

Whipped cream doesn't take long to make, particularly if you use a hand or stand mixer. All you need is a pint of whipping cream and some sugar and vanilla to taste. To see how easy it is, watch the video tutorial below from foodell.com.

Yummy for the Tummy & the Mind

Pat Willard's Pie Every Day combines the art of pie making with the art of storytelling for a cookbook you'll enjoy reading as much as you'll enjoy using.