Posted on by alskamom

This past weekend was a big weekend here in Alaska. It was the start of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, which is an annual 1,049-mile race from Anchorage to Nome. This year there are 66 mushers competing against each other to be the first to reach Nome. Mushers and their dog teams usually cover the distance to Nome in 9-15 days; although last year’s first place winner reached Nome in just under 9 days.

If any of my readers or fellow bloggers are interested in following the race, you can visit the Iditarod website here. The website provides current race standings, as well as photo galleries and other interesting tidbits. I also have links to Anchorage and Nome webcams on my Alaska Facts & Links page located here.

I didn’t get a chance to go to downtown Anchorage or Willow to watch the start of the Iditarod, but I was able to catch some of it on T.V. Since the temperatures were only in the teens this past weekend, I think it was probably the better choice to watch the festivities from the comfort of my warm home. It also gave me the chance to whip up this delicious Coconut Banana Cream Pie for our weekend dessert.

If you’re a fan of coconut, then you’ll absolutely love this pie. It’s extremely easy to make, and the crust consists of only two ingredients – coconut & butter. The banana cream filling is very smooth and light, and pairs very well with the crunchy toasted coconut crust. It’s almost like having two pies in one – Banana Cream and Coconut Cream.

~Enjoy~







Coconut Banana Cream Pie

Crust

8 tablespoons butter

4 cups flaked coconut

Filling

1 (5.1 ounce) box Banana Cream Jell-O Instant Pudding and Pie Filling

3 cups cold milk

Topping

Whipped topping, thawed

2 tablespoons sautéed coconut

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan.

In a skillet, melt the 8 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Sauté coconut until golden. Set aside 2 tablespoons for topping.

Press remaining coconut on the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pie pan.

Bake for 7 minutes; watch crust as it bakes, to make sure it doesn’t brown too quickly. Remove pie crust from oven and cool on wire rack.

In a medium bowl, beat pudding mix into milk with wire whisk for 2 minutes. Pour into cooled pie crust. Place in refrigerator and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Place a dollop of thawed whipped topping in the center of pie. Sprinkle with reserved 2 tablespoons sautéed coconut.

Filed under: Baking, Pie, Recipes | Tagged: Alaska, Anchorage, Baking, banana cream, banana cream pie, blog, coconut, coconut pie crust, Dessert, easy, food, Iditarod, Iditarod Sled Dog Race, Jell-O Instant Pudding & Pie Filling mix, Nome, photo, Pie, quick, Recipe, toasted coconut, webcam, wordpress |