Pistachio Coconut Pie

I love pistachio pudding and I owe this to my grandmother, who makes an amazing pistachio nut cake. Seriously, I'd eat pistachio stuff everyday, but I've been told that I need to eat a balanced diet, and I assume that horse cartilage (or whatever is in Jell-o) isn't on the food pyramid. Every now and then, though, I like to add a little bit of nuttiness to my repertoire.

So last night, I decided that I would make a pistachio pie for a cookout that my uncle is having. It's freaking hot here on the East Coast, and is therefore, too hot to bake... and wanting to steer clear of the traditional graham cracker crust (I wanted everyone to know that I had slaved away in the kitchen), I searched high and low for a bangin' crust that would leave everyone's jaw on the floor after consuming the dish.

So I bring to you... the Sort of No-Bake Pistachio Coconut Pie.

Ingredients:
2 packages of instant pistachio pudding (If you get sugar-free, I might cry. For real.)
2 cups 2% milk (I am anti-dairy milk [especially if it is not fat-free] for almost everything, but for this, you must go with 2%, otherwise it won't quite thicken the way it needs to)
1 container whipped topping
1/3 cup unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups coconut

Method:
1. Set oven to 350'. Arrange coconut evenly in a 9 x 13 cake pan and put in oven once it has finished preheating. "Stir" the coconut every few minutes, about three times, or until the coconut is lightly browned and toasted. Remove from oven and set aside about a teaspoon of the coconut.

2. Melt butter.

3. Add toasted coconut to melted butter and stir until evenly coated. Press into a regular pie plate. It looks like a lot, but if you press all the way up the sides, you shouldn't have any problems with overflow.

4. Put pie shell in freezer for a few minutes.

5. Mix milk and both packages of pudding together with a hand mixer (I use this Kitchenaid Mixer). Let set for about 2 minutes. Measure 1 1/2 cups of the pudding and spread into the pie shell.

6. Fold whipped topping into remaining pudding. Once fully incorporated, spread over the pudding-filled pie shell.

7. Sprinkle with toasted coconut, if desired.

8. Chill until ready to serve.

Marvelous. I love this pie and so did everyone at the cookout!

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