Last autumn I learned something new about my dad: he loves coconut cream pie. How I’d gone 35 years without knowing this little fact (especially when one of my favorite things to do is bake him goodies) is beyond me. I made it my mission to find a really great recipe – preferably meringue-free – and bring it to our Thanksgiving feast (along with his other favorite pie, pecan).
You guys, listen up. I have never liked coconut cream pie (or pecan for that matter). Sweetened coconut tastes weird to me and ugh, it’s so stringy. So when I stumbled on this recipe from Carina at Today’s Mama, I honestly didn’t think I’d dig it. In fact, I didn’t even try a bite of it until after I’d heard a gazillion compliments and saw that the pie was nearly gone. This pie isn’t good. It isn’t great, it isn’t divine, it isn’t lovely, it isn’t swoon-worthy.
THIS PIE IS THE KIND OF PIE WARS ARE STARTED OVER – EPIC WARS THAT BARDS THE WORLD OVER SING ABOUT CENTURIES LATER. THIS PIE IS THE PIE THAT ENDS ALL PIES.
A couple of things make all the difference. Finely shredded un-sweetened coconut. Coconut milk. And instead of toasting my own coconut for the top (and this is the only departure I made from her recipe), I used Dang Toasted Coconut Chips (which are utterly divine and ought to be a regular part of your snack-time repertoire).
Normally if I use a recipe and make a bunch of changes to it, I’ll just re-type the recipe here and link to the original, but I’m telling you this recipe is perfect as it is. Click on over to Carina’s, give this pie a try (poet, didn’t know it, yadda, yadda). You’ll totally be so so so so glad you did.
Myndi Shafer 
The coconut pie sounds delightful. Since you are now a convert, might it find a place in your next Shrilugh offering? After all, those folk will need to eat sometime, and presumably they occasionally have feasts? I’m looking forward to reading the next installment.
Now all I need is someone to make me that pie. 😀