Tillotson Tropical Pie

Today I was fooling around with some recipe ideas and i decided to whip up a pie made of my two favorites: lime and coconut. i have seen a couple key lime pie recipes online that i was going to make for the luau, but we decided against making pies and getting the cake. the recipe that i thought looked the best was on martha stewart's site...but today looking in the fridge, i knew i was missing a few ingredients. so anyway, im supposed to be starting my diet today and whenever i start a diet i crave sweets like crazy. i figured id try out my concoction and give it a little taste thinking it probably wouldnt come out too good....but i am really happy with it! its fast, easy and yummy! i suppose you could make this with meringue, i just dont like the stuff---i think the fresh whip cream is yummier. here goes, if youre brave and try it, let me know what you think!

Tillotson Tropical Pie
2 cups of graham crackers crushed
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
6 tablespoons of butter melted
4 egg yolks
14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1 cup of sweetend coconut flakes
1/4 cup-1/2 cup of lime juice (im sure this would be much better with real key limes, they were just too expensive for my grocery budget, so I used those little plastic limes that say "sicilia" on them. they're like a dollar at price rite) 1/2 would make it REALLY lime-y i put in 1/4 c and then a good squirt more.
3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of coconut extract

1. make and bake graham craker crust. combine the first three ingredients in a mixing bowl and then press into a 9" pie plate. bake at 325 for 8-10 minutes.

2. Using a blender, mix egg yolks for a couple minutes until foamy. add the sweetened condensed milk. after thats blended, add in lime juice and coconut flakes.

3. Bake pie at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Let pie completely cool.

4. Make fresh whip cream. My mother always chills her mixing bowl in the fridge before making the cream...im not sure if that really makes a difference, but thats what ive grown up doing. start whipping the chilled heavy whipping cream and slowly add in your powdered sugar. the mixture begins to get thicker, add coconut extract. whip whip whip until a nice firm consistency.
Plop it on the chilled pie, or use a pastry bag to make it pretty!

Option: garnish with toasted coconut flakes and/or sugared key limes (i didnt do the sugared key limes, but thats taken from martha stewarts key lime pie recipe and it makes it look pretty fancy!)

its plenty sweet, but i have a mean sweet tooth---my hips dont lie!
if any of you try it, i hope you like it!
(i didnt take a picture of it this evening because i didnt have the whipping cream, and it wouldnt have looked as pretty, im sure ill be making this pretty soon and ill snap a shot just for the heck of it!)



Isnt this flower pretty? its'a echinacea purpurea aka "coconut lime" flower!