Coconut Dishes That Everybody Loves!
Hello All!
It’s November which means you’ll be eating plenty of pumpkin pies later on this month, but none will be as delicious as this one! And, if you need to bring a dessert to an office function or family gathering like we talked about yesterday, then this is definitely the pie you want to bring to showcase your awesomeness.
Taken from Coconut Dishes That Everybody Loves (1931).  (It even says in the title that everybody will love this!!)
You will need:
1 unbaked pie shell
1 1/2 cups canned shredded coconut
2 cups cooked mashed pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon mace
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups milk, scalded
Combine ingredients in order given and mix thoroughly. Pour into pie shell. Bake in hot oven (400 degrees Fahrenheit) for 15 minutes, then decrease heat to moderate (350 degrees Fahrenheit) and bake 30 minutes longer.
Pretty easy, no? Bear in mind these recipes come from vintage cookbooks so there are some old-fashioned techniques, (who knew pumpkin pies could be made without the canned stuff? Not this schmuck, that’s for sure!) but if our grandmothers could do this stuff, we sure as hell can, right? :/  As far as the coconut goes, you’d be best off making sure you use the canned stuff versus the flaked stuff since the canned coconut has more sweetness and moisture to it.
Also, if you do use canned pumpkin, don’t use a full 2 cups since there’s less water puree in canned pumpkin…probably more like 15 ounces would be better. But, mashing a pumpkin is easier than it sounds like it is. (Or am I the only one who think that sounds tough?? I mean, pumpkins are only for carving faces into and then roasting the seeds, right?) Find a sweet pumpkin (NOT the kind you carve at Halloween…a smaller, “pie” one…a 2 pounder should yield 2 or more cups), cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy junk, place the halves face down in a roasting pan with a cup of water in the bottom, and cook for 60-90 minutes. Then pull it out, let it cool, scoop out the remaining cooked pumpkin and throw it in a bowl and mash it! Totally easier than it sounds…
And, last but not least, the mace spice. No, do NOT just spritz some of that pepper spray you have to guard yourself on the walk home from the train at night…unless you want your loved ones to choke to death. No bueno. DO use ground mace from your local grocer’s store (I had no idea it came in non-pepper spray form either). The bonus is, if the cookbook is wrong and everybody doesn’t love this pie, you can just throw some of that leftover mace in your pepper spray and then we’ll see who doesn’t like your pie, eh? But, they’ll love it so you won’t have to resort to that. :)