Coconut Buttermilk Pie

If you have even the slightest desire to make this Coconut Buttermilk pie, all I can say DO it DO it DO it! It is SO easy to make and so absolutely, mind-blowingly delicious.

I even made a little video for it! This pie is so special, I thought a regular video wouldn't do it any good, so I had some fun with this one.

I bought some full-fat buttermilk recently to make homemade ranch dressing to dip my Skinny Valentina Hot Wings in, and a few days later found myself with TONS of leftover buttermilk.  This is not an ingredient that often hangs around my house, and as I was not willing to attempt ( and fail ) at making a decent biscuit one last time, I started brainstorming.

What do I do with all of this buttermilk?

I began pulling everything out of my cabinets, looking for some inspiration, when it literally hit me on the head.  A bag of coconut, leftover from the holidays, when I planned to make macaroons and just never really got around to it.

Yes, those holidays.

The ones nine months ago. I should clean out my cabinets more often. I was reminded of a pie I had out in a restaurant a few years ago: a buttermilk pie, topped with a coconut whipped cream concoction.  It was delicious, but a little over the top and fussy for what I was in the mood for making.  I wanted something easy!  So I started experimenting with a classic buttermilk pie with the coconut mixed into the pie, and here is where I landed.

I have made this pie THREE TIMES in the past month. I think at this point, just about every person at my day job has tried it, because I keep bringing the pies in to work so they don't sit at home, calling to me for another slice.

This pie is sweet, but it is not candy sweet.  The texture is soft, but not wet.  It is drier than a custard, with a slight crumble to it, but still smooth in the mouth.  There is a slight crunch from the top of the pie, that crisps over as it bakes.

Don't be alarmed if it comes out of the oven in a puffy dome! It will settle down to be nice and flat once it cools off a little.  You can serve this pie all on its own as a dessert, or even as a brunch item, with a showering of fresh berries or pineapple on the top.

Coconut Buttermilk Pie

A crispy top hides a luscious, old-timey soft coconut and buttermilk filling in my take on this Southern Classic dessert: The Coconut Buttermilk Pie.

4.67 from 18 votes

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Course: Dessert, Pie

Cuisine: Southern

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 slices

Author: Basil and Bubbly

Ingredients

• 1 pie crust homemade if you're capable, but no shame in a refrigerated pre-made -- which is what I used, because I'm horrible at pie crust
• 1 stick butter
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• ¼ cup flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¾ cup buttermilk
• 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
• 1 pinch salt
• either parchment paper and dried beans or foil for par-baking crust

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Place the crust in a pie pan, fancy up the edges of the crust however you please. Do not poke holes in the crust. Place a piece of parchment paper over the crust, and fill parchment covered crust with dried beans. Alternatively, line the crust with two layers of foil.
• Bake the crust for 8 minutes.
• While the crust is baking, melt the butter in a medium sauce pan.
• Once the butter has melted, add the sugar and the flour to the butter, remove from heat, and stir until combined.
• In a bowl, whisk the eggs. Once the yokes are broken and combined with the whites, add the buttermilk, salt, and vanilla, and whisk until combined.
• Add a dollop ( about 2 tablespoons ) of the butter mixture to the egg mixture, and stir it in with your whisk. Once that dollop is combined, add the rest of the butter mixture to the egg mixture, and stir until smooth.
• Add the coconut, and stir to combine.
• Drop the temperature of your oven down to 350 degrees.
• Remove the parchment paper and beans ( or foil ) from your crust, and fill the crust with the mixture you just made.
• Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Notes

If your crust starts to brown too quickly, cover it with a strip of aluminum foil to protect it from browning any more while the rest of the pie bakes.

Tried this recipe?Mention @basilandbubbly or tag #basilandbubbly!