Gluten-Free Chocolate Coconut Pie

Just a simple little recipe here for a Friday evening. So simple, in fact, that it only contains four, that's right, 1-2-3-4 ingredients! If you were, though, feeling like a nut, you could turn this essentially Mounds Pie, into an Almond Joy, by adding a fifth ingredient of chopped almonds between the coconut crust and chocolate layer.

The recipe comes by way of Martha Stewart, and is featured in her New Pies and Tarts cookbook, which I got for Christmas. Everything in the book is just drool-worthy, from the Butterscotch Praline Cream Pie to the Persimmon Tartlets with Caramel Cream; I might just have to work my way through the entire book, pie by pie. But here's one for starters, and it just so happens to be naturally gluten-free! One of these days I will have to work on my gluten-free crust recipe (apologies, celiacs!), but for now, there's this, a coconut macaroon-like crust, with a rich chocolate ganache. And your choice on almonds-- sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't.



Gluten-Free Chocolate Coconut Pie
Adapted from Martha Stewart's New Pies and Tarts

Ingredients
4 Tblsp. unsalted butter, softened
11 oz. (about 6 c.) sweetened shredded coconut
1 1/4 c. heavy cream
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate (60% cacao), chopped

Directions
For crust:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In the bowl of a standing mixer, mix butter and one-third of the coconut until the mixture begins to form a ball, about 1-2 minutes. Remove bowl from mixer and sprinkle in remaining coconut, combining with a wooden spoon.

2. Press coconut mixture into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate, forming to make a crust shape and leaving edges loose and fluffy. Place a foil ring or crust guard around the edge of the crust to prevent it from burning. Bake until center begins to brown, 10-15 minutes. Remove the foil, and bake 4-6 minutes more, until the edges are browned. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

For filling:
1. Place cream in a medium saucepan and bring just to a boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate chunks in a medium heat-proof bowl. Let sit, covered, for 10 minutes, then stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is completely combined and smooth.

2. Pour into the coconut crust, and refrigerate until set, for at least 1 hour and up to one day. Serve slightly chilled or at room temperature.