Coconut Cream Pie

Every now and then I earn the title "the good child" from my mama. That's always a nice feeling. I earned it recently with this addition to my Thanksgiving dessert menu, which was requested by you guessed it... my mama. It was touch and go there at first - mama had asked for the pie with meringue, but I earned my way off the hook after everyone had tried this version. This has never been a pie that I requested or sought out - I'm much more fond of chocolate, french silk, or chess - but it did have a really good flavor and my stepdad and grandfather finished off this pie. I found more than a dozen recipe variations on Pinterest, but this is the one I decided to try: Coconut Cream Pie. I used my Pie Crust recipe again for this one.

1 baked pie crust

For the Toasted Coconut Topping
½ cup flaked, sweetened coconut

For the Coconut Custard
1½ cups coconut milk
1½ cups half-and-half
5 egg yolks
¾ cup sugar
4 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp butter
¼ tsp salt
1½ cups flaked, sweetened coconut
1½ tsp vanilla

For the Whipped Topping
2 cups heavy whipping cream
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Spread coconut evenly on a rimmed baking sheet. Place into 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes until coconut has just begun to turn brown. Be careful!  Coconut goes from toasting to toasted very quickly!  Watch it carefully, and go with the lesser time and add what you need. Set aside to cool.

Pour coconut milk and half-and-half into a liquid measuring cup. Add egg yolks and whisk together. Set aside.

***coconut milk is not the same thing as coconut cream. Ensure you have coconut milk!***

Add sugar and cornstarch to a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk egg and milk mixture together once more and then slowly begin to add to the sugar and cornstarch, whisking together constantly.

Bring custard mixture to a boil. Switch to a rubber spatula or wooden spoon and continue to stir constantly. Boil one minute.

Remove from heat and add butter, coconut, vanilla and salt.

Spread custard into pie crust. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until set, about 30-45 minutes.

For whipped topping:

Add sugar and heavy whipping cream to large bowl. Whisk with an electric mixer just until stiff peaks form. Add vanilla and whisk just until combined. Spread whipped cream on top of coconut custard. Refrigerate until ready to serve. When ready to serve, top with toasted coconut.

Chocolate Meringue Pie

I think that, next to apple pie, there is nothing more American than Chocolate Meringue Pie. And nothing quite so tasty. They are somewhat temperamental to make though... I learned that many, many years ago when I tried to make my first one. To put it nicely... it was a disaster. Runny, flat meringue, just blecht. Put a few years on me, add a little more patience, and this attempt was an amazing success. I found this recipe on Pinterest - Aunt Julia's Chocolate Pie. I just made one tiny tweak - I added a teaspoon of ground espresso, which helps intensify the chocolate flavor. I also used my own Pie Crust recipe, but you can use whichever you like.

1 baked pie crust

1 cup sugar
2 cups milk (calls for whole, but I used 2 percent)
3 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp ground espresso
3 large eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 tsp cream of tartar
2 Tbsp confectioners' sugar

Separate eggs. I placed the whites in a large bowl and put those in the refrigerator to chill for the meringue. I left the yolks in half the egg shell until ready to add to the mixture. I also put the whisk attachment into the freezer to chill before making the meringue. In a bowl, combine 1 cup of milk, flour, and cocoa powder and whisk thoroughly to combine. In a saucepan, add remaining 1 cup of milk and sugar, and heat over medium-high heat until simmering. Slowly add the milk-flour-cocoa mixture and stir until combined.

Bring to a boil. Add egg yolks one at a time, whisking constantly. Bring to a boil.

Once the mixture comes to a boil, add the vanilla and then remove from heat. Pour the mixture into the baked pie crust and set aside.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. To make the meringue, add the cream of tartar and a pinch of salt to the egg whites. Using a hand-held mixer, whisk on high speed until foamy. 

Sift the confectioners' sugar a little at a time and whisk until the whites are glossy and hold stiff peaks when the whisk is lifted.

Spoon the meringue onto the chocolate filling being sure to spread all the way up the the edge of the crust.

Bake until meringue is golden brown, about 3-5 minutes.

Chess Pie

I can't think of a simpler, more delicious pie than Chess Pie. I can't really say that I know WHAT a chess pie is exactly. It's some type of custard base, and from the research I've done, it seems to be a fairly old tradition. No one knows exactly how it got its name. It just sort of IS. I had never heard of it until I started working at a BBQ restaurant in Athens, Ala., the summer I turned 19 years old. A lady came in to bake pies for the day - chess, chocolate, and coconut were her specialties, I think. It looked pretty good, and so one day I bit the bullet and bought a piece. Oh. My. Gosh. It just melted in my mouth. I had never had anything like it. So several years ago, I decided to search for a recipe. And I found one that just screamed "this is how your grandmother and your grandmother's grandmother made this pie!" I printed it out, and baked my first chess pie. I've always had good reviews over it, and frankly, I'm pretty fond of it myself. I use my Pie Crust recipe for the crust, and it is so flaky and yummy.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 Tbsp white vinegar

1/2 Tbsp vanilla (1 1/2 tsp)

1 Tbsp cornmeal

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large saucepan, heat the butter and sugars over medium heat just until melted.

Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. If you don't, the eggs will cook a little when you add them - you don't really want chunks of "scrambled egg" in your pie! Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Add the eggs - you can add them one at a time and stir after each addition, or if your mixture is cool enough then you can add them all at once. Either way, just ensure the eggs are thoroughly incorporated. Add the vinegar and cornmeal and mix. 

***Do not beat the mixture.***

Pour in unbaked pie crust. Bake for 1 hour. If you have trouble with your crust edges cooking too quickly, then cover them with aluminum foil for most of the cooking, remove 15 minutes or so before cook time is complete. Turn off the oven and let pie rest in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool completely and set before cutting.