I can remember being a little girl and going out to eat with my grandfather, Jack. We liked to frequent a little spot affectionately called “Sam’s Truck Stop”, it was seriously one of the best restaurants in town. It closed down a few years prior to when my grandfather passed away and it seems almost fitting because I just can’t imagine going there without him.

Anyways, after we would eat our meal, we would order a dessert. Actually, before we even ordered we would ask if they had any Coconut Cream Pie left and they would always hold us a slice or two. It was always one of my favorite treats (both the pie and the time with my grandfather).

After he passed away in 2016, I was given one of his recipe boxes. It was filled with recipes that he’d tried and saved over the years. I couldn’t bring myself to look through them because there were a lot of them in his handwriting.

This year on March 27th, which is his birthday, I decided I wanted to make a recipe out from his recipe box. And, whether you want to believe this or not, the first recipe I pulled out was one for Coconut Cream Pie.

I have no idea where he got the recipe from but I do know that he must’ve enjoyed it because he took the time to cut it out and stick it to the blue index card. I gathered up all the ingredients and went to work. I would like to note that I did make some changes to the recipe instructions based on what I knew worked for me.

Coconut Cream Pie

Servings: 8

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

Pie Crust

2 cups of flour

2/3 cup shortening

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup cold water

Meringue

2 eggs whites

4 tablespoons of sugar

2 tsp. water

3/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Coconut Cream Filling

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/8 tsp. salt

2 egg yolks

2 cups milk (scalded)

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup + 2 tbsp. of coconut

2 tbsp. butter

Instructions:

1. Cream the shortening in bowl with half the flour, stir with a spatula
2. Add water and remaining flour
3. Stir until everything is mixed well
4. Divide and roll on flour board
5. Coat a 9″ pie dish with non-stick spray
6. Assembly the pie crust into the pie dish
7. Bake at 325° for 20 minutes
8. Once cooked, set to the side and let it cool
9. Turn your oven up to 400°
10. Begin making the filling by adding your milk to a double broiler*
11. Stir constantly until it is just beginning to boil, you don’t want it to truly boil or it will spoil
12. Once complete combine the butter, sugar, salt, flour and egg yolks into the double broiler (along with the milk) and begin to whisk
13. Whisk constantly over the boiling water until the mixture begins to thicken and smooth
14. Remove from heat, add vanilla and 1 cup of coconut
15. Pour into the pre-baked pie crust
16. Now, move on to making the meringue by beating the egg whites until they are frothy
17. Add in the sugar (1 tbsp. at a time) and continue to beat well
18. Add in the water*( and cream of tartar
19. Beat the mixture together until stiff peaks begin to form
20. Spread the meringue on top of the warm filling
21. Sprinkle the remaining coconut on top
22. Place in over and bake until nicely browned (about 10 minutes but keep an eye on this, every oven is different!)
23. Remove from oven, let cool and then place in fridge for 4 hours (or overnight to let it set)

Notes:

*If you do not have a double-broiler (I do not), then you can create one by filling a sauce pan with water, bring the pan to a boil and then place another pan on top. Just be sure that the top pan can nestle into the bottom one without causing any spills.

**This recipe called for 2 tsp. of water in the meringue, after making this, I think that 2 tsp. is too much and would likely half it