It's Always Time For Pie!

I just want to mention that I got a special award from my husbands team at work for being the lady that makes tasty treats. Wasn't that nice? I don't even work there! Thanks team! You made my day. :)

Now back to the recipe o' the day!

My momma loves her some pie. And one of my dear friends had just had a baby. And it was Mother's day weekend. So I set about finding a tasty pie recipe...and this recipe for Coconut Buttermilk Pie is what I settled on. It's one of the most fuss free pies I've ever made, so I was skeptical that it could be as good as it looked. But it was spectacular! And this is coming from a girl who doesn't really like pie.

So here is my humble suggestion for another pie you can add to your Thanksgiving rota...I promise it will give pumpkin a run for it's money!

Coconut Buttermilk Pie

1 and 1/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup sweetened coconut, divided
1 unbaked 9-inch deep dish pie shell

-Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
-In a large mixing bowl, mix together the sugar and flour.
-Mix in the butter, then the eggs, vanilla, buttermilk and 1/2 cup of the coconut.
-Pour the mixture into the pie shell, sprinkle the remaining coconut on top.
-Bake for one hour or until pie is set (a slight jiggle in the center is okay...it took my pie about 1 hour 5 minutes) and the top is golden brown.
-If your pie crust starts to darken too much, cover the edges with foil and finish baking.
-Cool and serve. Store leftovers--if there are any--in the refrigerator.

8 servings

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This recipe works just as well if you double it...and if you're going the frozen pie crust route, you usually get two pie shells so...heck, I'll do the math for you!

Coconut Buttermilk Pie Double Recipe (Two pies!)

2 and 1/2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons flour
1 cup butter, melted
6 large eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1 and 1/2 cups sweetened coconut, divided
2 unbaked 9-inch deep dish pie shells

-Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
-In a large mixing bowl, mix together the sugar and flour.
-Mix in the butter, then the eggs, vanilla, buttermilk and 1 cup of the coconut.
-Pour the mixture into the pie shells, sprinkle the remaining coconut (1/4 cup for each pie) on top.
-Bake for one hour or until pie is set (a slight jiggle in the center is okay...it took my pie about 1 hour 5 minutes) and the top is golden brown.
-If your pie crust starts to darken too much, cover the edges with foil and finish baking.
-Cool and serve. Store leftovers--if there are any--in the refrigerator.

16 servings

Time for Pie?

I admit, I'm not a huge fan of pie because I hate pie crust. I find it bland and greasy. There, I said it! But I will eat pie because of the filling! Oh, the custard and fruit goodness of it all makes me happy. So if you give me pie, please don't be sad if I leave an empty crust on my plate.

This may be the reason that, in addition to the perfect shortbread recipe, pie crust dough perfection still eludes me. I made one of those no fail recipes yesterday for a pie and it FAILED miserably. :( FAIL! I was so sad that I wasted the time and just didn't fork out the dough (hah! dough...) for some frozen Marie Callendar's crusts. Mostly because the filling, which was a fantastic lemon curd topped with a layer of fluffy lemon cake, was nothing short of angelic. Far too good for it's inferior crust.

So if you're a pastry diva, feel free to make your own crust. If not, do as I do and buy a couple of frozen Marie Callendars. At least until I find the perfect recipe...

Lemon Cake Pie
From the Sunset Cookbook

1 9-inch deep dish pie crust, unbaked
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
3 eggs, seperated
1 and 1/4 cups milk

1. Put the rack on the lowest position in your oven.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
3. In a medium bowl stir together the sugar and melted butter.
4. Stir in the flour, salt, lemon peel and lemon juice.
5. In a small bowl beat the egg yolks with the milk until well blended. Stir into the lemon mixture.
6. Beat the egg whites until they hold distinct but moist peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the lemon mixture.
7. Set the pie crust on a cookie sheet and pour in the filling.
8. You will have more filling than you need for the pie, so you can pour the extra into greased ramekins and bake them along with the pie.
9. Bake on the lowest rack of the oven until the top is browned and the center jiggles only slightly when the pan is shaken, about 45-55 minutes. If the top begins to brown too much, drape the pie with a piece of tin foil.
10. Let cool before serving. But it's good warm too!