Rae Udy

Pumpkin Pie, Coconut Pie Crust, Vanilla Cream Pie with variations

By Rae Udy

Thanksgiving is all about sharing with family and friends, but food is star for the day. It’s not the best thing for a health-nut to admit, but Thanksgiving is all about the pie for me.
Pumpkin Pie is my favorite and Grandma Toots actually made me my own pie one year when I was young. I admit to a love-hate relationship with pies. I love to eat them, hate to make them.
Whoever came up with the expression, “its as easy as pie� has never made a pie. I can never get the crust nice and flaky like it should be, but Easy Pie Crust recipe from Regina Shafer turned out perfect. The one crust I can make is Coconut Crust. This is so easy to make and may even entice the carb counter to try a slice.
Fill your homemade crust with Vanilla Cream or one of the variations listed and you will have a star attraction for this Thanksgiving dessert.
Have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving.

PUMPKIN PIE
2 cups unsalted canned pumpkin
2 eggs or soy egg substitute
¾ (three-quarter) cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ (one-half) teaspoon allspice
¼ (one-quarter) teaspoon nutmeg
¼ (one-quarter) teaspoon ground ginger
1 ½ (one and one-half) cups evaporated milk
1 unbaked nine inch pie crust
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a mixing bowl combine pumpkin, eggs, sugar, spices and milk. Beat well. Pour into unbaked crust. Bake for ten minutes. Lower heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 45 minutes or until center of pie is set. Remove from oven and cool completely. Serves eight.

EASY PIE CRUST
By Regina Flemister Shafer
( From “The Good Portion�, The United Methodist Women, Longview)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup cooking oil
1/3 cup milk
Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Do not stir milk and oil, but measure together in cup. Pour milk and oil into flour and mix. Take half of mixture and roll into ball. Roll out between wax paper. Peel off paper and place in pie pan. Repeat with remaining dough.

COCONUT CRUST
2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
2 Tablespoons melted butter
Place coconut in pie plate and drizzle with butter. Mix well until coconut is coated with butter. Press mixture evenly around sides and bottom of pie plate with your fingers or back of a spoon. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for ten to fifteen minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Fill with cream pie. To keep pie from forming a skin, cover top of pie with a sheet of plastic wrap. Chill pie at least two hours before serving. Chill two hours or longer before cutting pie. Top with low-fat whipped topping. Yields eight servings.

VANILLA CREAM PIE
3 large eggs or soy egg substitute equivalent
¾ (three-quarters) cup sugar
¼ (one-quarter) cup cornstarch
3 cups skim milk or soy milk
1 Tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 prepared baked pastry shell or coconut crust
Separate egg yolks from whites and set aside. (Use the egg whites for another recipe.) Combine sugar and cornstarch in a three-quart heavy saucepan. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thick and bubbly, about five minutes. Cook and stir for two minutes while boiling. Remove from heat. Slightly beat egg yolks with a fork. Quickly stir about one cup of the hot filling into the yolks. Pour egg yolk mixture back into the hot filling in pan. Place back on heat and bring to a gently boil. Cook and stir for two minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Pour hot filling evenly into prepared crust. Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap to prevent skin from forming. Chill two hours or longer before cutting pie. Top with low-fat whipped topping. Yields eight servings.
COCONUT CREAM PIE: Prepare as above and stir in one cup shredded coconut with butter and vanilla.
BANANA CREAM PIE: Prepare filling as above. Just before pouring filling into prepared crust, arrange three sliced bananas over bottom of shell.
CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE: Add one-half cup chocolate or carob chips to milk. Continue as above.