Old Fashioned Coconut Cream Pie

From Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Coconut Cream Pie:
• 1 can coconut milk (can be found in the Asian foods section)
• Half-and-half or heavy cream (enough to add to the coconut milk to make 3 cups)
• 3 egg yolks
• ¾ cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup flaked coconut, toasted*
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 1 recipe graham cracker crust (below) or traditional pie crust
• Fresh Whipped Cream, lightly sweetened
Graham Cracker Crust:
• 12 whole rectangular graham crackers
• 1 stick butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 3 tablespoons sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. For the pie: In a medium saucepan, combine half and half, coconut milk, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Mixture will become very thick. Remove from heat, and stir in coconut extract and the vanilla extract (at this point you can also stir in 3/4 cup of the toasted coconut, although, I prefer to use it all to garnish the top of the pie). Pour the custard into the baked and cooled pie shell and chill 2-4 hours or until firm. Top with whipped cream and the toasted coconut.
2. For the crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Finely crush graham crackers in a food processor or in a ziploc bag with a rolling pin. Pour crumbs into a bowl and add sugar, stirring to combine. Drizzle butter over the top and mix with a fork until the crumbs are evenly moistened.Press the crumbs evenly in the bottom and up the sides of a 9- or 10-inch pie plate. Bake for 13-15 minutes until the crust is just barely beginning to brown. Remove from oven and cool completely before filling.

NOTES

*To toast coconut, spread coconut on rimmed baking sheet in an even layer and bake at 325 degrees, tossing often, until lightly toasted, about 12-15 minutes.

Maria's notes:  I made this for Father's Day 2013.  I didn't have much time so I used a ready-made graham cracker crust which made it quick and easy.  I really love this pie.