Rick Requests ... Chocolate Pie

I asked Rick what he wanted for dessert on New Year's Eve.  We were having some friends over and he was cooking cioppino

(sorry, can't share that recipe -- his version is Top Secret)

so dessert and appetizers were my job.  I scoured my recipe file and did not find anything worthy of New Year's Eve, so I selected this book as my next possible source for a good recipe:

I have been collecting Pillsbury Bake-Off books for about 15 years and found this beauty at an antique store several years ago.  Now, of course, it is available on Amazon (click the photo to go to the listing there).  This book is from 1959, when the Bake-Off had only been going on for about 10 years.  It is a treasure trove of old fashioned recipes.

Looking in the cream pie section, I found a delightful recipe for Coconut Shortbread Chocolate Pie.  Now that sounded festive enough for a New Year's celebration.

Coconut Shortbread Chocolate Pie

Crust
1/3 cub butter
2 TBSP sugar
1 egg yolk
1 TBSP cream
1 cup flour
1 cup coconut, cut up (I used unsweetened thick shavings and they were perfect for this)

Cream the butter.  Add the sugar, combining well.  Blend in egg yolk and cream.  Add the flour gradually and mix well.  Blend in the coconut.  Press into bottom and up the sides of a 9" pie pan.  Bake at 350 for 20-22 minutes. (yes, those 2 minutes can mean the difference between just-right and burnt coconut).

Filling

3/4 cup sugar
3 TBSP cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups milk
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten 1 TBSP butter
1 tsp vanilla

Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in top of double boiler (over boiling water).  Gradually blend in the milk. Add the chocolate.  Cook, stirring constantly, until thick (this always takes a bit longer than I think it will).  Stir a little of this hot mixture into the egg yolks.  Then add the yolks to the hot mixture, still stirring constantly.  Cook about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.  Cool at least 20 minutes.

(my chocolate did not fully melt, but I decided I liked the way it looked with the little darker brown specks throughout)

Turn the filling into the pie shell.  Chill.  Serve with whipped cream and toasted coconut.

Happy New Year!