Coconut Cream Pie {Dairy Free}

I'm not even going to start into the apologies for not posting for five (six?) months. I'll just give you a quick update and then get right onto sharing the goodness of this amazing recipe.

We welcomed our baby girl who was born almost five months ago. She's a sweetie and so much fun. After not having a baby for 7-1/2 years it's kind of culture shock to have one again. But it's been so much fun. I've wanted to cherish every moment with her.

On top of that, I am homeschooling my younger son this year. Long story. But we are enjoying it. It takes a lot of time. But it's been a wonderful experience.

Also, we had some food allergy issues with the baby. I am nursing her and we found out she is allergic to the dairy protein found in my milk (plus soy we think). We had to eliminate all sorts of foods to figure things out (eggs, nuts, soy, diary). And we are still in the process of figuring that all out.

As a result of all of this, I've discovered a whole new world of cooking allergy friendly and finding amazing and delicious recipes to share. I made this coconut cream pie yesterday for Thanksgiving and it was so astoundingly delicious (whether you are dairy free or not) that I couldn't wait to share it even though I have a backlog of a million recipes I haven't shared with you yet. In case you are interested it is also soy, nut, and egg white free. Enjoy!

Coconut Cream Pie {Dairy Free}
Printable Recipe

*Makes one 10" Pie

INGREDIENTS:

Pie Crust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
3 Tbsp. water

Pie Filling:
3 Cups full fat canned coconut milk
3 egg yolks
¾ Cup white sugar
1/3 Cup cornstarch
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. coconut extract

Garnish:
1 Cup flaked coconut or coconut chips, toasted (*See Note below)

DIRECTIONS:

For the Crust:
Preheat oven to 200 F. In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients for the crust. Add oil and stir. Add water as needed until it just sticks together but is not gummy. Press evenly into a 10-inch pie pan. Put the crust in the oven and immediately increase the temperature to 350 F. Bake 20-25 minutes or until edges begin to turn golden brown. Let cool completely.

For the Pie:
In a medium saucepan, combine 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. Strain through a fine mesh strainer for a smoother consistency, if desired. Let mixture cool to the touch. Then pour the custard into the baked and cooled pie shell and chill 2-4 hours or until firm. When ready to serve, top each individual piece with the toasted coconut.

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

*Pie filling adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, converted to be dairy free. Pie Crust adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie.