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I’m dreaming of a white Christmas…and this White Christmas Pie is very dreamy and delicious!
We found this recipe in a vintage 50th anniversary cookbook compiled by the booster club of Sacred Heart High School in Waterbury, Connecticut – the high school one of my mother’s close friends attended as a teen.
Filled with recipes submitted by parents and alumni who attended the school between 1922 and 1972, that cookbook is a very interesting snapshot of mid-century cooking history told through recipes that people loved enough to want to share.
Among all of the recipes in the cookbook, this White Christmas Pie (submitted by Josephine Colasanto) really stood out as one recipe that Jack and I both wanted to try. It’s a baked pie crust filled with a creamy and sweet coconut filling flavored with both almond and vanilla extract.
Although not part of the original recipe, we decided to top our White Christmas Pie with unsweetened whipped cream. The filling of the pie is fairly sweet as written in the original recipe, but by adding whipped cream on top, it really helped to cut down the sweetness. (Plus – it looks so pretty and it creates an even creamier bite!)
The original White Christmas Pie recipe also recommended serving this with either crushed raspberries or strawberries. We decided to go the strawberry route – dicing fresh berries and tossing them with a little bit of confectioners’ sugar to create a simple sauce.
The flavors of the strawberries together with the creamy coconut pie is a winning flavor combination – and the acidity of the berries really balances out the richness of the pie.
I wouldn’t serve this White Christmas Pie any other way – plus the gorgeous red berries against the white creamy pie gives it an especially festive look too. Enjoy!
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White Christmas Pie
Ingredients
To Make a 10” Pie Crust
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
1/4 cup ice cold water, plus more as needed
Filling
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup water
2/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup shredded coconut plus more for sprinkling over top
2 cups heavy cream as topping
2 cups fresh diced strawberries, for topping
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar to mix with strawberries
Instructions
To make the crust, cut the butter into pats and place flat on a plate. Place the plate in the freezer while you work on the remaining ingredients.
In the bowl of a food processor, place flour, salt and sugar and pulse to combine. Add cold shortening and pulse a few times. Add frozen butter and pulse until the butter is pea size.
Pulse while adding cold water, stop and check by pinching some dough and if it is crumbly, add a tablespoon of water at a time until the dough comes together.
Pour out onto a floured counter and press together into a disc. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.
Remove dough and on a floured surface, roll dough so that it is two inches larger than your standard 10” pie plate. A 9” pie plate can be used however the filling will be right up to the top. Place the dough over the pie plate and gently press in and up and over the edges. With a knife or scissors, cut extra. Pinch the overhanging dough into a high ridge all around and then go back over and a make decorative edge, again, keeping it high. (I use thumb and index finger on one side and the knuckle of my index finger on the opposite side and pressed together to make a scalloped edge) Place the completed pie dough in the freezer for 30 minutes to set up so that the sides don’t collapse while baking.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and once the pie plate with the dough sits in the freezer for 30 minutes, remove, add parchment and either pie weights or dry beans. (To make the parchment fit, cut parchment into a circle larger than the pie plate and make four slits a few inches long around the edge half way to center so when you place it in the shell, the slits overlap and fit up the sides.) Place in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove pie weights or beans, and with a fork, puncture the bottom in a few places to release steam and place back in the oven without the weights and parchment and bake for 15 more minutes. Cool to room temperature. The shell is now ready to be filled.
While crust is baking, make the filling by first blooming the gelatin. Place gelatin in the water in a small bowl to dissolve and set aside.
In a medium sauce pan, mix 1/3 cup of the granulated sugar, flour and salt. Add milk and whisk to combine. Over medium heat, bring to a boil and cook one minute.
Add gelatin mixture and whisk to combine over medium heat then remove from heat. Whisk in the two extracts then place sauce pan in a bowl with ice to quickly cool.
Beat the ½ cup of heavy cream to soft peaks and set aside.
Beat egg whites with cream of tartar and the remaining 1/3 cup of granulated sugar to stiff peaks and set aside.
Place the filling into the mixer and whip just to make the mixture creamy.
In a large bowl, place cooled whipped filling and gently fold in whipped cream, beaten egg whites and shredded coconut. With a rubber spatula, scrape mixture evenly into baked and cooked pie shell.
Whip the two cups of heavy cream to stiff peaks and using a large pastry bag with a large star tip, make a decorative top over the filling and then sprinkle some coconut over the top.
Dice strawberries and mix in a bowl with the confectioners’ sugar. The strawberries will eventually give up enough liquid to mix with the confectioners’ sugar to create a sauce.
Cut and serve pieces of the pie with strawberry sauce spooned over the top.
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Any thought on if I can make this the day before? Maybe making the filling the day before?
★★★★
Hi Elena – Like any pie, the crust will start to soften a bit. But we’ve enjoyed leftovers for a few days after serving so a day ahead is probably fine. Since the filling has gelatin which sets up, you’ll need to pour it into the pie crust once it is made.
I have been making White Christmas Pie for over 50 years. I began using powdered egg whites several years ago and have found that they work well for the meringue. Never put a fruit sauce or more whipped cream on it. At our house, the pie was frozen and just taken from the freezer about 20 minutes before serving. I did not see any instructions with the recipe you posted that dealt with refrigeration or freezing. Do you just fill the pie shell and serve immediately? Would be interested to know.
Hi Christine – We prepared our pie the same day as serving and then refrigerated it (as well as the leftovers) – but I think your freezing idea is a great suggestion! Thank you!
Have you ever seen a recipe for a white chocolate pecan pie. It looks a lot like this white Christmas pie. There’s a little restaurant in Michigan that makes it. Thank you Debbie
No – sorry Debbie! (Sounds interesting though!)
This is very interesting… my grandmother , has had this recipe except better, modified I should say. From her grandmother to one before. Handwritten. Maybe think about deleting this as this is a culinary piece that was crafted into something beautiful. Might want to look into that “cookbook”. Also intellectual Property.
Hi RDS – The cookbook where we found the recipe was a compilation of students’ family recipes gathered by a high school and printed in a booklet. It’s entirely possible that someone’s grandmother passed it along, and along, and along as often happens with family recipes.
In terms of Intellectual Property, US Copyright laws only partially cover recipes – a list of ingredients and the general steps/process to complete a recipe are not covered under copyright laws. However, if someone reprinted our recipe instructions word-for-word exactly as we wrote it here when we made it, and also reprinted our photos – that would fall under US Copyright Law violations. I’m not sure why you feel we should delete this – we took our own photos, wrote the recipe as we made it and attributed the original source.
could this be done with white chocolate shavings instead of coconut? we have coconut allergies in our family.
Sure Carrie – you could try that. The coconut in the filling adds a little bit of body to the filling, but without it, it will just be more of a soft cream pie.
I would like to tell you your Italian Sesame Seed Cookies are the “bomb”! I have made them three times already and two batches are for Christmas cookie plates. My mother-in-law loves them although I have to make them smaller and burn them for her….lol. I have to order a one ounce scoop as my two are either too small or too big. I do, also, roll them into logs before dipping and rolling in the seeds; easier and less messy for me. Thanks again and Happy Holidays to you and yours’.
You’re very welcome Jeannine – so glad the cookies are a hit! Happy Holidays!
hi again,
what I want to do is make this pie the day before Christmas and take it with me Christmas day to my family’s house for Christmas dessert. Can I make it on the 24th and leave it in my fridge and take it with me Christmas morning and leave it in my nephew’s fridge until supper. will it be okay>
Thank you for your help.
Yes – You’ll be fine to do that. Enjoy!
can you make this pie the day before and keep it in the fridge? Can it be frozen?
Hi Ronnee – Whipped cream softens and weeps a bit as it sits so for best results, I’d suggest making the custard the day before and then adding the whipped cream topping the day you serve the pie.
We haven’t tried freezing this pie ourselves. It’s basically a custard pie underneath the whipped cream – I’m not sure how that will hold up after being frozen and thawed. If you try it, please let us know how it works out!
Raw eggs?
If you are worried about the raw eggs, feel free to coddle them first using this method. https://www.afamilyfeast.com/how-to-coddle-an-egg/
Can this pie be frozen?
Hi Susan – We haven’t tried freezing this ourselves. It’s basically a custard pie underneath the wiped cream – I’m not sure how that will hold up after being frozen and thawed. If you try it, please let us know how it works out!