Coconut Cream Pie with Coconut Crust

Ingredients:

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut  (divided use)

3 cups half-and-half

2 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup white sugar

½ cup all-purpose flour

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 (9 inch) pie shell, baked

1 cup whipped cream for topping

7 ounces sweetened flaked coconut

1/3 cup butter, melted

For the Crust:

7 ounces sweetened flaked coconut

1/3 cup butter, melted

(note: regular pie crust can be substituted for coconut crust)

Instructions for the crust:

Set an oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put the coconut in a bowl, add butter, knead the ingredients together. Pat the coconut-butter mixture into the pie pan like you would a crumb crust. If you press down hard you will get a more candy-like crust. If you lightly tap it in the crust will be more chewy-fluffy. Bake crust for 10 to 15 minutes or more if you like a very toasty coconut flavor. Let your eyes and your nose guide you -- the deeper the color, the crispier the crust -- the lighter the color, the chewier it will be. If the edges are browning too fast pull the crust out of the oven and wrap the edges with aluminum foil then put it back into the oven.

For the coconut cream pie filling:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and bake it, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. In a medium saucepan, combine the half-and-half, eggs, sugar, flour and salt and mix well. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in 3/4 cup of the toasted coconut and the vanilla extract. Reserve the remaining ¼ cup of toasted coconut for garnishing the pie. Pour the filling into the pie shell and chill until firm, about 4 hours. Top with whipped cream and reserved coconut.