Coconut Pie

My Mamaw Jane is a wonderful lady. She loves to talk, you can't leave her house without eating something, she could sell a refrigerator to an Eskimo, and she makes some of the most delicious foods I have ever tasted. I love asking her for recipes because her voice changes and I can watch her brain working to tell me the steps that she has perfected through the years. As with any true cook, she doesn't follow recipes. Her advice is to just eyeball what you're creating and feel when you've added enough flour or folded in enough milk. It was difficult at first, but now I am beginning to catch on to her recipes. You just have to know. 

The latest recipe I asked for was coconut pie. I called her on the phone this evening and after ten minutes of talking about church services, necklaces she bought at a yard sale, and everything in between, I got the recipe for the most delicious and simple coconut pie in the world. I am going to try to relay the message just as she did... 


Now you know this makes two pies, right? Okay...get you the Pillburys pie crusts, the blue ones from the freezer section that come with two. Bake those like the package says. Make sure to jab a bunch of holes in the bottom with a fork! A lot of holes. 


For the filling get a big Pyrex bowl. You'll need lots of room. 
Start with a heaping serving spoon full of self-rising flour. (I estimated this to be around 1/2+ cup). 
Add 1 cup of sugar.
Separate 6 eggs. Add the yolks to the sugar and flour. Keep the whites for later. It'll taste richer if you use fresh eggs. I've got some here. I set out two dozen for your daddy, but he never stopped by...*rant about chickens*....5 minutes later....
Back to recipe:
Add a big spoonful of butter. (I estimated and added 2 TBS.)
Mix in 1 can of evaporated milk plus the same can filled with regular milk. 


Stir all of this together real well in your bowl then put it into the microwave. (I didn't believe her when she told me this part!) Yes, the microwave! 
Start out with 4 minutes. 
Remove and whisk well. It should start getting thicker. 
Microwave another 4 minutes. 
Remove and whisk again. Now it should be close to right. 
Add 1 tsp. vanilla and over half the bag of shaved coconut. Mix well and microwave another 2-3 minutes. Your mixture should look like this... 

Add the filling to your two browned pie crusts.

For the meringue take the six egg whites from before and add some sugar and a little bit of cream of tartar. (I asked how much sugar and cream of tartar. She said enough to make it sweet and thicken. I estimated 1/2 c. sugar and it tasted pretty good. 1 tsp. tartar seemed to work, also.) 

Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until they're fluffy and form mountains. (This took longer than I expected it to.) The meringue should look like this... ↑

Top the filled pies with the meringue and sprinkle with the left over coconut. You will have extra...that's okay. Put the pies in the oven and broil. Don't leave the oven or you'll burn them! Stand there and watch. There's no sense in cooking if you don't take the time to do it right. 

After a couple minutes your pies will be covered in toasted coconut meringue heaven! Take the pies out of the oven and let them sit for a few minutes. I put mine in the refrigerator so they could cool faster. I didn't let them cool all the way though! Just enough so the pie tin isn't too hot and the filling won't run out. 

Warm coconut pie is one of the most delicious things on Earth. The crunchy coconut on top mixed with the sweet, light meringue, creamy coconut filling, and flaky, salty crust is completely heavenly. 

I hope my mamaw's recipe is easy enough to follow. Just remember to eyeball everything and "feel" when it's right. 

Happy baking!