Piled HIGH with meringue! From the Blue Bonnet Café in Marble Falls, Texas.

BLUE BONNET CAFÉ’S PIES

COCONUT MERINGUE PIE

1 C sugar
¼ C corn starch
¼ tsp salt
3 C milk
4 eggs, separated
3 Tbsp butter
1 ½ tsp vanilla
3 ½ oz can flaked coconut, a little reserved for topping
Baked 9 inch pie shell (I use Pillsbury)

Combine sugar, corn starch, salt, and milk in saucepan, whisking to blend well. Cook mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture bubbles and thickens. Cook and additional 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Beat egg yolks slightly and gradually stir 1 C hot mixture into yolks (being careful not to curdle yolks). Pour egg mixture back into saucepan and return to heat. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring, 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla (stirring until butter has melted). Fold in coconut and pour into baked pie shell. Preheat oven to 350˚. Top pie with Meringue Frosting, spreading frosting all the way to the sides of the crust to seal, Sprinkle extra coconut on top and bake 12-15 minutes or until meringue is nicely browned. Cool completely before cutting.

MERINGUE FROSTING

4 egg whites, at room temperature
¼ tsp cream of tartar
½ C sugar
½ tsp vanilla

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar at high speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar 1 Tbsp at a time until stiff peaks form and sugar is dissolved (2 to 4 minutes). Beat in vanilla. FOR 3 EGG WHITE MERINGUE: Reduce vanilla to ½ tsp and sugar to 6 Tbsp. Proceed as directed.

CHOCOLATE MERINGUE PIE

Replace coconut in Coconut Meringue Pie recipe with ¼ C cocoa, combing cocoa with sugar, corn starch, salt, and milk. Proceed as directed above.

BANANA CREAM PIE

Replace flaked coconut in Coconut Meringue Pie recipe with 2 ripe bananas, sliced, lining bottom of baked pie shell with banana slices before topping with cooked pudding mixture. (Proceed otherwise as directed above.) Top with either Meringue Frosting or Whipped Cream (reserving egg whites for another use).

WHIPPED CREAM

1 C whipping cream
½ C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Beat cream at high speed. As it starts to thicken, add powdered sugar gradually. Add vanilla. Beat until soft peaks form. Spread on top of cream pies and chill until ready to serve.

LEMON MERINGUE PIE

Proceed as directed for Coconut Meringue Pie above, but increase sugar to 1 ½ C, add 3 Tbsp flour to sugar-corn starch-salt mixture, and replace milk with 1 ½ C water. Reduce eggs to 3 and butter to 2 Tbsp. Add ½ tsp finely grated lemon peel to pudding along with butter and stir in 1/3 C lemon juice into pudding after butter has melted. Top with 3 Egg Meringue Frosting for Lemon Meringue Pie, or with Whipped Cream for Lemon Cream Pie.