I made a pie!

I'm quite proud of myself. My mom is one of those moms that doesn't want to celebrate Mother's Day. Weird right? Well, I'll have none of that. She's trying to declutter the house, so I couldn't buy her anything. And going out to eat today would have been a battle. So after my sister and I cooked chicken alfredo for lunch (YUM), I made a coconut cream pie. Because that's the only thing my mom asked for.

The recipe I used was one my great-grandmother used all the time. And her pies were AH-mazing. I remember going to her house as a little girl and sticking my fingers in her pies. She thought it was hilarious...My mom not so much. This time I did NOT stick my finger in the pie though.

First you need to make the pie crust. If you're feeling particularly adventurous, you can make it yourself. I, however, am not to that point. So I used a store-bought crust. And my mom couldn't even tell the difference. Whether you buy or make your crust, put it in your pie pan and bake it until golden brown. Then leave on the counter to cool while you make your filling.

For the filling you'll need:
*1/4 cup cornstarch
*1/2 cup white sugar
*3 egg yolks
*1/2 tsp salt
*2 cups whole milk
*1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
*1 cup flaked sweetened coconut

1. Separate 3 eggs so that you have just the yolks (save the whites for a healthy omelette or meringue), and whisk them gently to combine
2. Combine cornstarch, sugar, salt, and milk in a sauce pan and slowly bring to a boil while stirring
3. Pour a little of the hot mixture into your egg yolks to temper them. Then add them to the rest of the hot mixture in the saucepan
4. Once all of the yolks are added, keep whisking and add vanilla
5. When the mixture has thickened a lot, take off heat and add the coconut
6. Pour into already-baked pie shell and let sit on the counter for about 10 minutes. Then transfer to the fridge to continue cooling for at least 4 hours (or overnight)

Once your pie is almost cooled you can make the whipped cream to go on top. I know a lot of people like meringue, so you could make that instead with those leftover egg whites. No one in my family actually likes meringue though, so I did whipped cream instead.

I used:
*2 pints of heavy whipping cream
*1 cup of sugar
*2 tsp vanilla extract

Making whipped cream is actually easier than most would think, especially if you have a stand mixer. All we have is a handheld but that works fine as well. You just get a good arm workout!

1. Put a metal mixing bowl, your metal beaters, and the whipping cream pints in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to cool them down. I don't know if this really helps the whipped cream, but my mom said it does so I'll trust her baking wisdom on this one.
2. Take everything out of the freezer. Pour the whipping cream into the bowl, along with the sugar and vanilla.
3. Whip with the beaters until finished. How do you tell if it's finished? Stick your finger in, pull it out, and if a small peak forms and stays, you know your cream is whipped enough.

(Or you could just taste it like I do)

Now take your cooled pie out of the fridge, spoon the whipped cream on the top, and sprinkle some toasted coconut on top if you'd like. Then slice and serve!

 My lovely mom and her "baby" Louie came in to check my progress and I had to snap a pic. I love them both A LOT. :)

*WARNING: This pie isn't exactly healthy (you could've guessed that from the ingredient list though). It's also quite addictive. It's gonna take a lot of willpower to keep that summer weight off this year now that I have an excuse to cook and bake all the time. Guess I'll just have to find more people to be my taste-testers. Anyone up for the job? ;)