Name: Grandmama's Japanese Fruit Pie
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup raisins; 1 cup boiling water; 1/2 cup butter (at room temp (unsalted or salted, whatever you have)); 1 cup granulated sugar; 2 large eggs; 1 teaspoon vanilla; 1/2 cup pecans (chopped); 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut; 9 inch pie crust (unbaked (you don't need deep dish, regular is fine))

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If you have a copy of my third cookbook, Sweetness, this pie recipe is on page 142.

This is the pie I talked about in my Facebook Live in the past. The pie that brought tears to my eyes when I took that first bite…

Why Is It Called Japanese Fruit Pie?

I want to start by saying that this pie is about as Japanese as I am and I have no earthly idea where the name came from – but this is what my grandmother had written down as the title in her cookbook so that is what we are calling it. If you leave a comment about how this isn’t Japanese and I refer you to the first paragraph, here ya go. Saw ya coming.

When I came across this recipe in Grandmama’s collection, I immediately stopped. The tell tale splattering across the page let me know this was a well used one, but having had countless meals at her table, I was confused by this not sounding the least bit familiar.

This Pie Recipe Brought Tears to My Eyes

On faith, I made it – and the first bite rewarded me with instant time travel back to my Grandmama’s formica table. The memory was so vivid and so instantaneous that tears sprang to my eyes. I remember this pie. And memories of my Grandmama started flooding into my mind.

And I think you might need this in your life.

The ingredients for this pie are simple and ones that could be found in kitchens of yesteryear.

Raisins
Sweetened Coconut
Vanilla
Butter
Sugar
Chopped pecans
Eggs

Dear Coconut Haters

I see y’all out there. All excited about this pie and then you saw the coconut and your noses scrunched up. I feel ya. No, not about coconut, I love coconut, but there are other things that half the world seems to love that cause me to inwardly recoil as well. I do try to keep the recoil as inward as often as possible though, for the sake of decorum.

Shrimp, Stevia, Water chestnuts come to mind, just to name a few. ~shudders~ Before you fly to the comments and ask me what you can substitute for the coconut I have to tell ya, I have no idea. I’ve never made nor had this pie any other way. You could start by doubling the pecans. That would probably work fine. You could also try just leaving the coconut out and that would probably work, too.

But dear friends who hate coconut, rest assured that I’m not about to try to convince you to give coconut one more chance just because I love it – because I’ve been on the receiving end of that argument far too many times in my life. You’ve made it this far and you don’t like coconut, and that is okay.

But hey, you’ve made it this far in the post. Might as well stick with me to the end.

How to make Japanese Fruit Pie Step by Step

Start by placing the raisins in a small bowl and covering with boiling water. Let them soak five minutes and then drain and set aside until you need them in the recipe.

Place your sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, beat again.

Add all other ingredients and stir with a large spoon until well incorporated.

I like to put my pie on a baking sheet, always do, no matter what kind of pie. It just makes it easier to get in and out of the oven that way. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, or until it’s set in the center and doesn’t jiggle when you wiggle it. Don’t worry if you jiggle when you wiggle because we aren’t here to judge.

Now at this point, you can serve it but it won’t completely set until it is chilled so I cover and refrigerate it a couple of hours.

Serve chilled.

Oh mercy. This pie. This old fashioned, simple, incredibly delicious pie…it wants you to take a bite.

Look at it, staring longingly at your fork. Won’t you welcome it into your home today?

If Grandmama were here, she would say you need to. 🙂