Coconut Pecan Pie

One of my all time favorite Thanksgiving delights is Pecan Pie. I love the chewiness, the brown sugar goodness, and the contrast of that sweet gooey center with the flakey crust. Heavenly.

But sometimes the same old, same old gets a little, well, same old. So I tried to think of another ingredient that would enhance the pecans, and compliment that chewy, gooey interior I love so much. Enhance, not change completely.

For me, the answer is coconut! Unsweetened, flaked or shredded coconut folded into the filling before it is baked. The coconut gets all soft and chewy and adds to the lovely filling of this coconut pecan pie. Totally delicious, and a slight twist on the original for you coconut lovers out there!

(This is Coco and Pia all set up at the “baking station” we created with my mom this past weekend)

By the way, if you have pie on the brain, don’t forget to go over here to enter to win a gorgeous Emile Henry Pie plate. (All of the instructions are here– winner announced on Friday)

Coconut Pecan Pie, serves 10
Pastry Dough:
-2 1/4 cups flour
-2 Tbs sugar
-½ tsp of salt
-½ cup butter, very cold and cut into pieces
-1/2 cup crisco
-1/3 cup ice water
Filling:
-3 eggs, beaten
-1 cup dark brown sugar
-1 cup corn syrup
-2 tsp vanilla
-½ tsp salt
-1 cup unsweetened flaked or shredded coconut (I suspect shredded may be better)
-2 cups whole raw pecans

1) In a food processor add the Flour, sugar and salt.
2) Pulse to combine and then add the butter.
3) Pulse until the dough resembles coarse crumbs.
4) Add the water a little at a bit and pulse until the dough comes together.

(Here, watch Coco. She’s into it.)

5) Empty the dough onto a sheet of wax paper.
6) Gently press the dough into a disc, wrap it in the paper and chill for about 30 minutes.

7) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

8) Take half of the recipe for pie dough, and using a very small amount of flour, roll out the pie dough into a circle in between two sheets of wax paper.

9) Gently peel back one side of the wax paper and lay over a pie dish.

10) Use your hands to gently make sure that the pie dough has covered the sides of the pie dish and that you have a nice crust. Use your fingers to pinch the crust against the edge of the pie plate. Set aside when finished.
(Watch my mom in these pictures- she is a pro)

11) In a medium sized bowl, combine the eggs, dark brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla and salt. Stir well.

12) Add the unsweetened coconut and combine.

13) In the bottom of the prepared pie dish, evenly spread the 2 cups pecans.

14) Pour the coconut filling mixture over the top of the pecans.

15) Bake the pie at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the filling is just cooked through (no longer runny.) It will continue to stiffen up as it cools.