Recipe

Classic Coconut Cream Pie

Baking in the American South brings back the nostalgia of a “drug store” pie in every bite

Recipe by Anne Byrn

September 5, 2024

A slice of coconut cream pie with meringue on top.

Photo: Rinne Allen

Chalkboard signs outside pharmacies—what we once knew as “drug stores”—used to announce the pie of the day—chocolate, caramel, lemon, banana, and coconut. While your prescription was being filled, you could fork into a tall slice of meringue pie. Cool and cozy, this coconut meringue pie is the pie of memory, with creamy custard underneath a soft meringue piled with coconut. The recipe, called Bob’s Coconut Cream Pie, was shared in a publication from the Alabama Farmers Federation. I’ve added a few embellishments in the form of coconut extract and butter to amp up the flavor for those of us who are forever crazy about coconut cream pie. —Anne Byrn, from her new cookbook, Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories.

Read our Q&A with Byrn here.

Ingredients

Coconut Cream Pie (Yield: 1 pie)
For the crust
- 9-inch pie crust, edges crimped and completely prebaked
For the custard
- 2 cups whole milk
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ tsp. salt
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp. coconut extract
- ¾ cup sweetened shredded coconut
For the meringue
- 3 egg whites (from above)
- 6 tbsp. granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- ¼ cup sweetened shredded coconut for topping

Preparation

[Once you’ve baked your pie crust according to your preferred method or recipe, set it aside to cool.] Leave the oven on, decreasing the temperature to 350°F, with a rack in the middle.

Make the custard: Pour the milk into a small saucepan and bring to nearly a simmer, just until it steams. Place the sugar, flour, and salt in a large saucepan and whisk to combine.

Whisk in the hot milk, turn the heat under the pan to low, and cook while continuing to whisk until the mixture thickens, 3 to 4 minutes. Meanwhile, separate the eggs and place the whites in a large bowl and set aside. Place the yolks in a small bowl and whisk until blended.

Spoon a cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks and when it’s blended, turn the mixture back into the saucepan with the hot milk mixture. Whisk over low heat until it thickens, 3 minutes more.

Stir in the vanilla, coconut extract, and the coconut. Spoon the filling into the baked pie crust and set aside.

Make the meringue: Beat the reserved egg whites with an electric mixer until frothy, 1 minute. While beating, slowly add the 6 tablespoons of sugar and salt. Beat until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes more.

Dollop the meringue on top of the warm filling, spreading it to the edges of the crust. Sprinkle with the coconut. Place the pie in the oven and bake until lightly browned, 14 to 16 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool for 1 hour before slicing.