Coconut Cream Pie

First, make the crust. Preheat oven to 350ºF and spray a 9-inch pie pan really well with cooking spray. Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar, rum and cinnamon together in a bowl and stir them together really well to resemble wet sand. Press the mixture into the pie pan firmly to form a solid, even crust. Bake it for 15–20 minutes to let it completely bake through and set. It will become gorgeously golden. While it bakes, spread the coconut out onto a lined sheet tray and toast it in the oven with the crust on another shelf. It should take 5–7 minutes for it to toast perfectly. Let the crust and coconut cool completely once they are done.

While they cool, make the coconut cream. Combine the half and half, eggs, sugar, flour, coconut extract and salt together in a medium sauce pan. Whisk it all together thoroughly, then heat it on the stove over low heat. Stir it constantly while it warms up, then slowly increase the heat to medium low after 3–4 minutes. Number 4 on my gas stove was the magic number. Once it starts to bubble and thicken, keep stirring it constantly to let it cook for a couple of minutes. Then take it off of the heat and stir in 3/4 cup of the toasted coconut. Reserve the rest of the coconut to top the pie.

Spread the coconut cream evenly in the cooled graham cracker crust and chill the pie for at least 4 hours. Then top it with a generous layer of whipped cream and sprinkle the remaining toasted coconut on the very top. Serve and enjoy!