Coconut Cream Pie Recipe

[Diane Lane]

I decided to make something different for Christmas dessert. Maybe it was because the temperature was around 80 degrees for a change, but I didn't feel like making a heavy pie. I found this recipe on Taste of Home, one of my favorite sites for recipes, and it came out pretty good. The crust (pre-baked then filled) shrank somewhat, so I couldn't use all of the filling in the pie crust. I put the leftover filling into 2 ramekins and served it as pudding. Somehow, I've lost all of my 9" pie plates, so that's something I'll be looking for in the new year.

The recipe is pretty easy, but it's really important to stay on top of the heat, and keep stirring the mixture. Some of it stuck to the bottom of my pan, but that didn't affect the taste of the pie, which was delicious. I also added some red and green crystal sprinkles before I refrigerated it, since it was Christmas.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/easy-coconut-cream-pie

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups milk
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1-1/2 cups flaked coconut, toasted, divided
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 pastry shell (9 inches), baked

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, flour and salt. Stir in milk; cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat; gradually stir about 1 cup of hot mixture into beaten eggs. Return all to saucepan; cook and stir over medium heat until nearly boiling. Reduce heat; cook and stir about 2 minutes more (do not boil). Remove from the heat; stir in 1 cup coconut, butter and vanilla. Pour into pie shell; sprinkle with remaining coconut. Chill for several hours before serving. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield:6-8 servings.