Coconut Cream Pie

From my tried and true, red and white checked, Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book. This was sensational, I'm not going to lie. I did some damage with a fork. We are whipped cream fans at our house, so no meringue on our pies. And to make it look pretty and taste more coconutty, I toasted some coconut for the top. This won't last long, enjoy!

1 baked pie crust (totally cheated and used a Western Family frozen deep dish pie shell)
4 eggs
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup cornstarch or ½ all purpose flour (used cornstarch)
3 cups milk
1 tbsp butter
1 ½ tsp vanilla
1 cup flaked coconut

1. Separate eggs. Keep whites if you are making a meringue.
2. Meanwhile, for filling, combine sugar and cornstarch. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium-high heat till thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Slightly beat egg yolks with a rotary beater or fork. Gradually stir about 1 cup of the hot filling into yolks. Pour egg yolk mixture into hot filling in pan. Bring to a gentle boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in butter, vanilla and coconut.
3. If using meringue, now is the time to make it and put it on the pie. Keep the filling warm while making the meringue.
4. Pour warm filling into baked pie crust. Bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Chill 3-6 hours before serving, cover for longer storage. Makes 8 servings.

*notes. This is a basic vanilla cream pie recipe. If you are making a banana cream pie, omit the coconut and spread sliced bananas evenly over the bottom of the crust before spooning in the filling and baking. To make a milk chocolate cream pie, stir in 3 oz semisweet chocolate, cut up, with the milk. To make a dark chocolate cream pie, stir in 3 oz unsweetened chocolate, cut up, with the milk and bump the sugar up to 1 cup. To make a sour cream-raisin pie, increase cornstarch to 1/3 cup, fold in 1 cup raisins and 1/2 dairy sour cream with the butter and vanilla.