Surprise Coconut Cream Pie

Y’all, this pie has a secret and it’s sitting right there in your pantry next to the instant coffee.

Grits. Cooked low and slow until they’re silky smooth, sweetened with sugar and butter, then folded with flaked coconut and sour cream for a filling that’s somewhere between custard and pudding.

Pour it all into a chocolate graham cracker crust, chill it down, and top with whipped cream and a cherry.

The grits disappear completely into the texture. What you taste is pure coconut cream richness with a subtle tang from the sour cream and that chocolate crust holding it all together.

Nobody will guess the base unless you tell them, and telling them is half the fun.

Kitchen Tips

• Use regular grits, not instant. Instant grits won’t cook down smooth enough and can leave a gritty (pun intended) texture in the filling.
• Temper the eggs slowly by adding the hot grits mixture a quarter at a time. Dump it all at once and you’ll end up with scrambled eggs in your pie.
• Chill for at least 4 hours, overnight if you can. The filling needs time to set firm enough to slice cleanly.