I am a planner.

A planner in the sickest sense of the word. It’s probably more accurate to call me an obsesser, in fact.

Menu planning just happens to be one of my favorite things in the world. I spend hours obsessing over my menus, making sure everything works perfectly together in my sick and twisted mind. In those hours I spend reading recipes, making notes to myself to add a pinch of this or substitute that, you’d think I’d at the very least check to make sure I have the ingredients or cookware I need to make it all happen.

Nope. I can’t count how many times I’ve sent poor Daniel to the store for something I overlooked in a recipe. Often, it’s a pan of some kind. Today, it was a deep-dish pie plate.

Now, it’s important for you to understand that I now work in a candy land for cooks and food lovers. I have access to any pot, pan, dish, glass, napkin, prop – you name it, I can borrow it. This makes it doubly annoying. But, in any event – off I had to send Daniel to the store, as I was without the pan I needed. And as it always does, it all worked out.

This pie is worth an extra trip to the store. It was my first coconut cream pie, which is funny because it’s probably my favorite type of cream pie. I love meringue and this pie is brimming with it. The fact that the meringue is baked adds a different component to this pie – a crunchy one. I’m used to cream pies being creamy. I’m still not sure how I feel about the baked meringue; it makes the whole pie sweeter, I think. I had to torch it a bit at the end for the beautiful browning I love on a meringue – and I also added a sprinkling of toasted coconut on top, so that people will know what they’re eating before they dig in.

The pie crust also came out perfectly, and the coconut custard is to-die-for luscious. It’s all relatively easy to make – just a lot of time stirring and a few steps. I think it’s worth it. What do you think?

Aunt Mollie’s Coconut Cream Pie

Adapted from The Pastry Queen, by Rebecca Rather

Basic Pie Crust:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2/3 cup (11 tablespoons) chilled unsalted butter
• 4 to 5 tablespoons ice water {I needed 5}

Coconut Custard Filling:

• 3 large egg yolks (reserve whites for meringue)
• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Meringue Topping:

• 6 large egg whites
• 2 cups sugar

To make the crust:

Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flour, salt, and sugar on low speed about 30 seconds. Cut the chilled butter into 1/2-inch cubes. Place in freezer for a couple of minutes to get them cold again. Add the butter to the flour mixture and combine on low speed about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, until the mixture looks crumbly, with bits of dough the size of peas. Add 4 tablespoons ice water, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed for 10 seconds after each addition. After the last addition, the dough should begin to clump together in a ball. If it doesn’t, continue mixing about 10 seconds longer. If it still looks too dry, add an additional 1 tablespoon ice water. Gently mold the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic warp, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Transfer the unwrapped dough to a lightly floured flat surface. Roll it into a 1/8-inch thick circle large enough to cover the bottom and sides of a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. (To keep the dough from sticking, gently pick it up periodically as you roll it out and rotate it in place, adding more flour underneath if necessary.) Wrap the dough lightly over the rolling pin and set it in the ungreased pie plate. Press it into place and crimp the outside edges with your fingers or a fork. Use a fork to prick the bottom of the crust. Cover the bottom and sides of the crust with a sheet of parchment paper and fill the crust with pie weights or dried beans.

Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Remove the parchment and weights. If the crust is not golden brown, return it to the oven for 1 to 3 minutes. Cool on a rack until the filling is ready. Decrease oven temperature to 350 degrees.

To make the filling:

Whisk together the egg yolks and cream in a medium bowl. Combine the sugar and flour in a large saucepan. Pour the yolk-cream mixture into the saucepan, whisking over medium heat until smooth. Bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking constantly about 10 minutes, until it thickens. Stir in the butter, coconut, and vanilla. Remove from the heat.

To make the meringue:

Set a large, perfectly clean metal bowl over a pot of simmering water. Pour in the egg whites and sugar. (If there is a trace of fat in the bowl, the eggs won’t reach their proper volume.) Heat the egg white mixture while whisking constantly until the sugar melts and there are no visible grains in the meringue. Take a little meringue mixture and rub it between your fingers to make sure all grains have melted. Remove the meringue from over the simmering water and whip it with a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on low speed for 5 minutes; increase the speed to high and beat 5 minutes longer, until the meringue is stiff and shiny.

Pour the filling into the pie crust. Spoon the meringue over the pie, covering the filling completely and sealing the edges of the pie crust. Dip the back of a spoon quickly into the meringue to make little spike – or use your fingers. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the meringue is golden brown.

Note: I doubled the amount of meringue for a more dramatic appearance – and because I love it. Feel free to cut the sugar and egg whites in half to make enough to just cover the pie.