Texoma Living! Magazine Food and Dining

Buttermilk Coconut Pie

By Ray Bledsoe

RAY BLEDSOE was profiled in the Winter 07 issue of Texoma Living!. The former mayor of Howe, Texas now spends most of his time in the kitchen, baking cookies and such for volunteer organization.

Bledsoe's tart buttermilk coconut pie is easy to make and wonderful to eat!

5 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 stick (1/4lb) margarine
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 juice from 1 medium sized lemon
1-2/3 cup coconut reserve 1/3 cup for top
3 tbsp flour

In one bowl mix sugar and flour. Lightly beat eggs in a large mixing bowl. Melt the margarine and add to the sugar, flour. Add that to the egg mixture and stir with a wire wisk. Add buttermilk, vanilla, lemon juice, and coconut.

Heat oven to 350-degrees. Use a 9 1/2-inch Pyrex deep dish using your favorite crust. (See crust recipe below.)

Cook on middle rack of pre-heated oven for 55 minutes. Sprinkle the reserved cocount on top for the last 7-8 minutes in oven.

Taste tested in the Texoma Living! kitchen

Ingredients Make the Difference

Ask Ray and he will tell you in no uncretain terms that the ingredients you use in your baking do make a difference. In his own Howe, Texas kitchen, Ray use only these brand name items:

Baker's Brand Coconut
Imperial Pure Cane Sugar (See the related story)
Adams Best Vanilla
Parkay Margarine
Crisco

Ray's Easy Crust

Combine 1-1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup butter flavored Crisco and 5 tbsp of ice water. If the sodium doesn't cause you concern, add 1/2 tsp salt.

You might expect that Ray Bledsoe work in a modern commercial kitchen. Not so, his simple homestyle kitchen is small and counterspace is limited. He uses nothing you wouldn't have in your own home kitchen. (Photo: Ray's bowls share counterspace with his coffee bean grinder and morning cereal selection.)