Macadamia Coconut Pie

Move over traditional pecan pie. If you're a fan of these nutty Hawaiian ingredients - mac nuts and coconut - you will absolutely love this pie. It's sweet, crunchy, rich, buttery, and oh-so-satisfying. I served this on Christmas and it was a total hit. You can use a store-bought pie crust, or if you're ambitious, you can make your own! Either way, you'll want to save this recipe because you're going to want to make it again. And again.

Here's how to make it:

Ingredients

1 - 9" pie crust (if store-bought, get the regular crust, not deep dish) or make your own with the ingredients below.

For the crust:

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

• 2 TBS cold vegetable shortening (Crisco works great)

• 1/4 TSP fine sea or kosher salt

• 3-4 TBS ice water

For the filling:

• 3 large eggs

• 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed

• 1/2 TSP vanilla (or if you really love coconut, use coconut extract)

• 1/4 TSP fine sea or kosher salt

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

• 1 1/2 cups dry-roasted macadamia nuts (about 7 ounces), coarsely chopped

• 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Instructions

For the pie crust:

1. If you're using a store-bought crust, follow the instructions on the package.

2. Using your hands or a food processor (preferred), blend together (pulse, if using a food processor) the flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a large bowl until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small pea-sized butter chunks.

3. Drizzle 3 TBS ice water evenly over the mixture. and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated.

4. Take a bit of the dough and squeeze gently with your hands. If the dough doesn't hold together, add more ice water, 1/2 TBS at a time, stirring (or pulsing) until incorporated. Be careful not to overwork dough, or it will be tough.

5. Place the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface (I like to use my silicone slipmat).

6. Divide dough into 4 portions. Using the heel of your hand, gently smoosh each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute the fat.

7. Gather all dough together with a pastry scraper. Press the dough into a ball, then flatten into a 5" disk. If the dough is sticky, dust it lightly with additional flour.

8. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge until firm, at least 1 hour.

9. Remove the dough from the fridge and, using a floured rolling pin, roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a 13" round .

10. Carefully transfer the dough to a 9" pie dish and trim the edges, making sure you have a nice edge - which you can crimp with a fork or leave as is. Chill shell until firm, about 30 minutes.

11. Put your oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.

12. Lightly prick the bottom of shell all over with a fork, then line with foil and fill with pie weights (you can also use a bag of dry beans).

13. Bake until the side is set and the edge is pale golden, about 20 minutes.

14. Carefully remove foil and weights and bake the shell until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes more. Leave the oven on and increase heat to 375°F.

For the filling:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt until combined, then whisk in the melted butter, nuts, and coconut.

2. Pour the filling into your pie shell and bake until set in center, about 25 to 30 minutes.

3. Cool in the pan on a rack for 30 minutes, then remove side of pan and cool tart to room temperature, 1 1/2 to 2 hours more. If you want it cooled faster, you can put it in the fridge, but remove about 20 minutes prior to eating to bring to room temperature and enjoy!

Did you make it? Share pics in the comments!