French Coconut Pie

Name: French Coconut Pie
Yield: makes one 9-inch pie
Ingredients: All-American Pie Crust (page 258); 1 cup sugar; 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; Pinch of fine sea salt; 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted; 1/2 cup buttermilk; 3 large eggs, lightly beaten; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 1 cup flaked fresh coconut (see page 32)

By Virginia Willis

December 9, 2011

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Photo by Chelsea Kyle

Cousin Michele makes this pie for her family each and every holiday. She learned it from Aunt Dolores and has taught her daughter, Nina, and son, Walker, to make it, too. The passing of recipes from one generation to the next is a thread of continuity, of family roots and place. Sweet memories in every bite, it’s a small but amazing bit of history. Let me just say I have never had “French” coconut pie in France. This pie is more along the lines of winning a blue ribbon at a country fair, not Le Cordon Bleu.

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