What's Baking?: White Chocolate Coconut Cranberry Pie

Yay for What's Baking? posts!  This month's theme was pie, hosted by Kim of Just Baked.  I actually had trouble coming up with an idea for this theme!  I've done a fair number of pies already, since it's probably my favorite kind of dessert!  The Fiancé (more on that in another post!!!) and I had been talking about his mom's coconut cream pie recently, and I realized that although I've blogged a few different cream pies, that one was not one of them!  I wanted to make it a little bit more seasonal, though, because coconut seems very summery to me, so I decided to add cranberries.  And since cranberry white chocolate cookies are so good, I decided to add white chocolate.  And that, dear readers, was how the white chocolate coconut cranberry pie was born.

Now, please forgive the picture.  I think the fat content of the white chocolate threw off the chemistry of the pie a bit, because it didn't set up quite as well as usual, and it separated a bit after sitting a few days.  So, in the recipe below, I adjusted the cornstarch amount to account for that.

You'll also notice that there is no added sugar in this pie.  It's not a typo, I swear!  It is plenty sweet with the white chocolate and sweetened coconut!  If you use unsweetened coconut and have a real sweet tooth, you may want to add maybe 1/4 c. sugar.  If you're like me, and prefer desserts that are slightly less sweet, use unsweetened coconut without any added sugar.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!  If you use a store-bought graham cracker crust, you'll have a bit of filling left over--just pour it in a bowl, and enjoy like pudding!  ;)  I think homemade ones are a bit bigger, so it should fill those ones fine.  Pecans would also make a lovely addition to this pie, either in the filling, as a garnish, or as part of the crust!

White Chocolate Coconut Cranberry Pie (adapted from Andrew's mom's coconut cream pie recipe)

• 1 9" graham cracker crust
• 3 c. milk
• 6 Tbl. cornstarch
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 4 oz (roughly 1/2 c.) white chocolate chips
• 1-2 Tbl butter
• 1 to 1 1/2 c. dried shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened
• 1/2 to 1 c. dried cranberries

Heat the milk in a medium saucepan until it just comes to a boil.  Meanwhile, whisk together the cornstarch, egg yolks, and vanilla.  When the milk has been scalded, temper the eggs by slowly adding about 1 c. of the milk to the egg mixture, whisking the eggs constantly.  Once they have been tempered, add the egg mixture to the saucepan of milk, and whisk to combine.  Continue to cook the mixture, stirring frequently, until it thickens considerably.  When it does, remove it from the heat and add the white chocolate chips and butter.  Let the mixture stand for about 5 minutes, whisking occasionally, until the white chocolate has melted.  Stir in the coconut and cranberries, and pour the mixture into the graham cracker crust.  Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pie to cover it and prevent a skin from forming.  Let the pie chill for 6 hours or overnight, and then dig in!