Cream Pies

Around here, cream pies are the "end all be all."  You put a pie in front of Lance and Zac and they become very possessive and unwilling to share :)  Mom requested pies for her birthday dinner yesterday.  So I pulled out this cookbook...Lion House Recipes.  When mom brought this cookbook out as a kid, I knew it meant nothing but deliciousness.  Found among its pages is the best cream pie recipe you will find (at least according to my family).

Ingredients:

5 Tbsp cornstarch
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup half and half cream
3 egg yolks
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup whip cream
Baked 9" inch pie shell

Mix cornstarch, sugar and salt in a saucepan.  Add milk and cream and cook over medium heat until smooth and thick, stirring constantly.  Pour small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; blend thoroughly, then pour back into saucepan.  Cook another 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla.  For all recipes below-except the chocolate-cover the cream with wax paper or plastic wrap (making sure it touches the cream everywhere because you will get a hard skin on top if it doesn't) and put in fridge to completely cool.

For Banana Cream:

Once cream filling is cooled, slice 2 bananas in the bottom of the pie pan and scoop chilled cream filling on top.  Whip the whipping cream and spread on top.

For Coconut Cream:

Mix 1/2 coconut with the chilled cream filling and scoop into the pie pan.  Whip the cream and spread on pie.  Toast coconut and sprinkle on top.

Chocolate Cream pie:

While cream filling is hot, add 1/2 cup chocolate chips and stir until it is melted.  Chill and then add to the pie pan.

Raspberry cream:

In small saucepan, mix 1 1/2 cups water with a box of raspberry Danish Dessert.  Bring to a boil and it will thicken.  Add a bunch of raspberries (fresh or frozen).  Chill.  Scoop cream filling in to pie pan and top with chilled raspberry sauce.