Recipe: Pina Colada Pie

This quick and easy recipe for Pina Colada Pie uses Jell-O Instant Pudding… Cool Whip… coconut, chopped cherries and pineapple…. Oh and did I mention rum?

I know the blog snob will definitely roll her eyes with this one.. after all… a boxed pudding mix.. how absolutely lazy!… she’d rather spend extra time in the kitchen making each ingredient from scratch… all the power to her… I want to enjoy the warm weather … and this pie is absolutely delicious the way it is.. no need for extra work.. so while she’s slaving in the kitchen.. I’ll be on the deck in the sun reading a book or better yet.. playing ball with Bubba and Duke (see support staff).

I came up with this recipe while trying to put together a dessert with ingredients I had on hand… and I started with Coconut Cream Jell-O Instant Pudding.. and went from there… I guess I had Pina Coladas on my mind.. lucky for us I did!

TIPS

I used a shortbread Redi-Crust… a graham cracker crumb will work just as well.

I highly recommend you use whole milk… a lower fat milk will not setup as well… even so.. with whole milk the pudding is not stiff but definitely servable (is that even a word?).

The JELL-O box says to use more milk than I have in the recipe for making a pie filling.. I felt the pie filling was too soft and had trouble cutting it when I used their amounts.

I made the pineapple topping from scratch (so there! blog snob… I do make some things from scratch)… but another thought would be to use pineapple ice cream topping.. just mix in the rum and it should work well.. I definitely will try it next time. Make sure you use chunky sauce.. you do want pineapple pieces. Another suggestion...use crushed pineapple instead of chunks.

If you don’t want to use real rum.. you can use rum extract… substitute 1 ½ teaspoons dark rum extract for each tablespoon rum… or ½ teaspoon extract for each tablespoon light rum.

When flavoring this with rum (or rum extract equivalent).. start with 1 tablespoon rum … taste it and then add the second tablespoon if you want.. everyone has different tastes… I used what is listed in the ingredient list.

You could leave out the rum altogether but… it really makes the pie taste like a real Pina Colada.

I used fat free Cool Whip.. any type works equally as well.

The instructions say to use 2 packages of the Instant Pudding… it will fill the over-sized Redi-Crust you can find in the grocery store or it will fill a smaller sized pie crust and you will have a little extra (like that’s going to be a problem for the cook…ha!)

If you need instructions on how to toast coconut.. click here.

Make sure you use sweetened coconut flakes… otherwise they won’t taste sweet.

If you like Pina Coladas.. you will like this pie… perfect for bringing to a party or barbeque.







Recipe: Pina Colada Pie

All you need:

For the Pie:

1 Redi-Crust graham cracker or shortbread
2 packages (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Instant Pudding coconut cream flavor
2 ½ cups whole milk
2 tablespoons rum
2 cups Cool Whip

Pineapple Topping:

1 can (8 oz.) Dole Pineapple Chunks
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons rum
1 tablespoon butter

Other Toppings:

¼ cup toasted sweetened coconut flakes
½ cup chopped maraschino cherries

All you need to do:

Beat the pudding mixes, milk and rum with a wire whisk for 2 minutes. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes.

Fold in the Cool Whip.

Pour into the shell.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Make the pineapple topping by putting the pineapple chunks in a small bowl and the juice in another bowl.

Add the sugar and cornstarch to the juice and microwave on high for about 4 minutes, stirring once. Depending on your microwave, you may have to microwave a bit longer until juice is thickened.

Add the rum and butter and stir well.

Add the pineapple chunks to the thickened juice and refrigerate.

Before serving make a border of chopped cherries around the rim.

Pick out the pineapple chunks and place in the center of the pie. Carefully drip some thickened pineapple sauce over the pineapple chunks… do not add too much .. otherwise it will be runny. Use the leftover thickened sauce on ice cream or another use.

Sprinkle the toasted coconut flakes over the top.

Refrigerate until serving.