My Favorite Pie

No matter what time of year, no matter how hot or how cold, my favorite pie of all has to be Coconut Cream. My favorite place to eat the pie is at Charlotte's in Keo, AR, but since I can't always go to Keo for pie, I have to make my own. Here's the recipe I use for the Best Coconut Cream Pie in my cookbook:

Pat's Coconut Cream Pie

Ingredients:

1 (9-inch) pie chell, baked

1 to 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (use more sugar for more filling, more volume)

2 Heaping T. cornstarch

2 Heaping T. flour

1/4 to 1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups milk (2% or half & half... depends on how rich you want the pie)

2 to 3 T. butter (cold from the refrigerator)

5 eggs (use 4 if you're using less sugar), separated, at room temp. (Hint: separate when COLD, then allow to come to room temp before mixing them for meringue)

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. coconut flavoring

2 MORE T. butter (cold)

1/2 C. moist flaked coconut (Baker's bagged coconut, packed gently), plus extra coconut for garnishing the top of the pie.

MERINGUE
Ingredients:

4 or 5 egg whites, at room temperature (be sure not to contaminate whites with the yolks of any oils from your fingers or utensils. Do not begin sooking pie filling until egg whites have come to room temperature, because you will be making the meringue and topping the filling while it is still HOT. If you fail to cover the pie with meringue while hot, and th epie gets cold, it will cause the meringue to "sweat" or get drippy and pull away from the sides. It needs to go on while the filling is HOT and bake while it is HOT to brown the top.)

Wisp of salt (scant 1/4 to 1/2 tsp.)

1/2 to 1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 tsp. clear vanilla flavoring

1/2 tsp. coconut flavoring

10 T. granulated sugar.

Moist flaked coconut for topping meringue

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a heavy saucepan or double boiler, use a whisk to combine sugar, cornstarch, flour, and salt. When dry ingredients are well combined, gradually add milk (or mixture of milk, as above). Once well mixed into the dry ingredients and all lumps disappear, add cold butter and bring mixture to a boil over medium to medium-high heat, stirring gently, but constantly to keep from sticking until thick and smooth. Once boiling and beginning to thisken, beat egg yolks well, stir in a little of the hot filling mixture and pour back into the sauce pan. Cook over medium heat (just bubbly) for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, so eggs have a chance to cook. Remove from heat, and stir in the additional 2 T of butter and the coconut and vanilla flavorings. Allow to sit while preparing meringue.

2. Add salt and cream of tartar to egg whites that are at room temperature.

3. Using highest speed of your hand mixer, beat egg whites until the mixture looks froathy or foamy. Immediately, add all 10 T. of sugar while you still have enough "liquid" (not all air and foam) to dissolve it. Return to highest (whipping) speed of your mixer and beat in as much air as possible to make meringue fluffy with soft peaks. When you lift the beaters from the beaten whites, the peaks will stand straight and then tip over. Add the flavorings and continue to beat until the meringue pulls into pointy peaks that stay that way. It's now ready to use.

4. Fold in 1/2 C moist shredded coconut into the filling (still in the saucepan) just before folding in 1/3 of the prepared meringue. Be sure to fold in all the way to the bottom and sides of the pan, so the meringue is evenly distributed, but do not beat--gently turn over the filling to fold in the meringue.

5. Have oven preheated to 350 F. Pour filling into cooled pie shell, and beginning at the edges spread remaining meringue around the rim of the pie, then fill the center and work your way out to the edges using a spoon to swirl waves or ripples into the meringue. You can use the back of a spoon to pull the meringue up into peaks all over the pie. Don't wait for the pie to cool! Do this while the filling is HOT. HINT: Make sure to seal the edges by spreading the meringue to the very edges of the pastry, so none of the inside filling shows. I use th etip of a table knife to do this--just to drag a thin layer over the edge of the fluted crust so it seals the pie while baking an ddoesn't pull away when it begins to cool.

6. If you desire, you can sprinkle moist flakes of coconut over the top, just before placing it in the oven to toast the top of the meringue. Bake the meringue low and slow at 325 to 340 F (you'll learn which does best for your oven and know which to use) for a bout 15 to 20 minutes. Start peeking through the "window" on your oven door (DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN) at about 15 minutes.

7. When done, remove to a cooling rack or countertop to allow the pie to cool completely--which will take several HOURS, so be patient and find something else to do so you won't be tempted to cut this yumnmy, great smelling pie! Keep it sitting in a place free from drafts (fans blowing, doors opening, an open window, kids galloping through the house, etc.) (grin)

8. When ready to cut, for a clean slice, us a hot, dampened serrated knife (pass one through a stream of your hottest tap water and blot dry before cutting. This also works well for cheesecakes.)

9. EnJOY every yummy bite!

10. Store leftovers in the refrigerator up to one week (it won't last that long, but you can try)!