Old Fashioned Coconut Meringue Pie (My Favorite)

Today I’m bringing you a recipe for one of my all time favorite pies. I’ve been wanting to bring you this recipe for a while now but I can’t bring everything at once, gotta pace myself because I plan on keeping this website going for at least another generation or two.

You often hear tales of pregnant women and their cravings and I was no different with both of my children. With Brady, I wanted extra sour lemonade and chicken noodle soup. I was working on my degree at the time and the local Chik-Fil-A saw me pull through their drive through at least three or four times a week. With Katy Rose, all I wanted was this pie. Thing is, you can’t go to the grocery store and buy this pie. Sure, they have coconut pies for sale in the freezer section but the only resemblance they bear to a true old fashioned coconut pie is their name. This is one of those pies that, if you find yourself craving it, you’re just gonna have to make it yourself.

But don’t worry, it’s easy to do and you probably have everything you need on hand already except for the coconut.

Here is my recipe. Hope you enjoy it!

You’ll need: Sugar, vanilla, flour, milk, margarine, eggs, and some sweetened flaked coconut.

That little bowl is a Jewel Tea bowl, same pattern as the plate in the final photo of the pie. Raise your hand if you remember Jewel Tea from your childhood!

I’m using my mix in the pan pie crust. It’s in the cookbook and on Southern Plate as well. Click here to see the tutorial. This pie plate is a bit larger than usual so I’m doubling the recipe and will end up with a nice thick crust. I prefer the taste of this crust to a store bought crust but you just do whatever is easiest for you. In other words, feel free to make your own or use store bought – your pie is still gonna be just as good so don’t you dare feel bad if you don’t make the crust from scratch!

I have a rule: If someone complains, they don’t get to eat my cooking again.

Ain’t had a complaint yet!

Place your margarine in a sauce pot.

Add sugar.

and flour

and your salt

and your milk…

now separate your eggs, yolks from whites.

Make sure you don’t get any yolks into your whites because we’re going to whip those up into a meringue later and if there are yolks in there the whites won’t whip up like we need them to.

There are lots of ways to separate your eggs. I think a lot of folks use an egg separator. Some folks use their hands by dumping the egg in and letting the white slip out through slightly spread fingers. I just crack my egg and gently tilt the shell until the white all falls out.

However you prefer, do it that way.

Pour your yolks into the sauce pot, too.

Look what a happy little family we have there!

With a wire whisk, beat up your eggs a bit and break up the margarine some.

Okay so you don’t have to break up the margarine because it will melt on it’s own in the pot but I had fun beating at it a bit with my whisk. You know, kinda how a kid can’t resist kicking a can as they walk up to it..

Isn’t my whisk beautiful? A couple of weeks ago Chef Bobby of The Big Green Egg came to my house to give me a lesson on how to make the perfect steak in a Big Green Egg cooker.

While he was here, I was admiring his toolkit and all of the lovely knives and spoons and such he had. I fell in love with this gorgeous whisk. The handle fit just right in my hand and was large enough that it was easy to hold even if your hands were tired. I admired it and planned on trying to track me down one just like it. The next day Bobby sent me a message telling me to check the drawer to the right of my oven and when I did, this whisk was in there!

Now let me tell you what, that tickled me to death! Felt just like Christmas.

Stir stir stir stir, cook, cook, cook, cook.

Don’t stop stirring because you don’t want it to scorch.

When it coats the back of the spoon like this, it is done BUT we are going to cook it a little bit more, about two minutes after that.

Go ahead and turn your heat off, though.

Now see, this is how thick I like it.

If you cook it until you can swipe at the bottom of the pot real fast and see a trail like this, it will  be thick enough that your pie will set up a little firmer and you can cut prettier pieces.

Don’t get me wrong though, I’ll gladly eat a runny coconut cream pie!

Now stir in your coconut.

This is where I forgot to put my vanilla in but I don’t beat myself up about things like that.

You try to remember to put it in, though. It’s in the recipe at the bottom.

Pie turned out just fine

Spread filling into your pie shell.

It usually isn’t this yellow but it all depends on the eggs. I must have gotten me some rich eggs this go around!

Now lets make us some meringue, or “Calf Slobber” as my Mama calls it…

Place your egg whites in a mixing bowl.

Make sure your bowl is really clean because if your bowl or your beaters have any oily residue on them that will interfere with your meringue as well so it never hurts to wash them again before this step. I wash mine in the dishwasher on high temp so we’re good.

Whip it until nice and frothy and light.

You can whip it to soft peak stage but I like to stop here and add my sugar so it has plenty of time to dissolve.

With so many things in cooking, there isn’t really a set “right” way unless you are in a culinary class.

When you’re cooking in your home, however you want to do it is the right way. ~grins~

~pours in her sugar~

~dumps in a little vanilla~

~Beats the living mess out of the egg whites until they are at stiff peak stage.~

I know this isn’t stiff stiff peaks, but its soooooooooooo much easier to spread if you don’t beat it too much.

Besides look at this whisk when I turn it upside down…

See? that’s a stiff peak!

Spread that over your pie, being careful to make it touch on all sides.

If you don’t spread it and make it touch on all of the sides it will pull back and shrink up a bit as it bakes.

Sprinkle some coconut on top of that.

Ooh did I tell you to get a little extra coconut? Well of course you should know that. I mean, you can’t actually make a coconut pie without eating some coconut along the way! I get a bag of sweetened flaked coconut, take out a cup, and nibble on the rest the whole time I’m making the pie!

~giggle~

Here is our pie all ready for the oven.

Bake this at 325 for about ten minutes, or until golden.

I usually cook my meringues for about fifteen minutes but you have to go a little shorter with this one so the coconut on top doesn’t burn.

Oh now that is a thing of beauty!

I got this pie plate and the little carrier thingie for it at Marshall’s for about ten dollars.

Old Fashioned Coconut Meringue Pie (My Favorite)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• stick margarine or butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 heaping cup coconut, sweetened flaked
• 9 inch pie shell, baked (Or my Mix In The Pan Pie crust)
Meringue
• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 C sugar

Instructions

For the Pie
1. Mix flour, sugar, salt, margarine, milk, and egg yolks in large saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wire whisk until thick. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and coconut. Pour into baked pie shell. Top with meringue.
For the Meringue
2. Whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar. Continue beating on high speed until soft peaks form. Pour onto top of pie and spread to edges to seal well. Sprinkle additional coconut on top. Bake at 325 for ten minutes or until top is golden. Refrigerate until completely cold before serving.

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Dear Family,

I can’t believe this day is finally here. October 5, the official release date of my book. Although, when you get a chance to read it, I hope you’ll understand that this is actually our book.

When I was a little girl, I was fortunate enough to go to a very special school, Lincoln Elementary in Huntsville, Alabama. Lincoln was one of the poorest schools in the city, most kids qualified for free lunch (including us) and had parents who worked long, hard hours just to put food on the table.

While our income levels were low, the staff at Lincoln was something special, the best of the best. They made it a point to single out each and every child and let them know that we were special, too. They made sure we all knew that we had gifts and talents which set us apart. They proved this to us every day, too, by praising our efforts and encouraging us to do more and reach higher.

When I was seven, they singled me out and told me I was a good writer. Each week I got to go to a special class where we wrote poems and stories. We’d design a cover for our books and they’d laminate it and let us bind them up with tape to show our teachers and take home with us for our families to enjoy. My first book was a collection of poems about my cat, Tom, and Mama still has it today.

A little over two years ago I started this blog as a hobby. I’d talk about food, ramble off on tangents, tell about the things in life that stirred my heart, and come back to a recipe at the end. It was an outlet that was it’s own reward because I’ve always had a need to write, ever since I was a little girl and got the rush of seeing my book about Tom.

I wasn’t looking for anything to come of it and I never dared to dream I might be published someday.

It was just too much to let myself hope for.

Enter the wisdom of a child.

You know, Katy Rose is at the age where she just really wants to have her whole life planned out. She often says “When I grow up, can I be a Mama AND a Doctor” or “a Mama AND a teacher“?

I’ve tried to explain to her that Mamas have many jobs. Some Mama’s work outside of the home and some Mama’s work inside but that there aren’t any limitations, you can be a Mama and be other things, too.

I also tried to explain to her that I had other jobs as well, even though the most important one was being her Mama. I could tell she didn’t quite get it, though, until this past summer when she came up to me and said “Mama, I figured out what your other job is.”

I looked down at my curly headed little girl with a smile and said “You did? What is it?” Knowing my Katy Rose, I was prepared for pretty much anything to come out of her mouth.

She looked up at me with eyes filled with pride and a beaming smile and said “You’re a book writer.”

I wasn’t quite prepared for that.

To realize that I have had a dream all along that was just too dear to allow myself to even hope for, and in that same moment to realize that it had actually come true.

I pulled her close to me and gave her the biggest hug just like I’m going to give you when I see you.

Today, I’m a book writer.

Gratefully,

Christy

Enthusiasm is contagious. Be a carrier.

~Susan Rabin. Submit your quote by clicking here.

If you live in the Huntsville, Alabama area and would like

to join me for a Southern Plate Scavenger Hunt and little

get together tonight, please click here for details.

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