Pecan Pie with Whole Wheat Coconut Oil Crust

When the nice people at Tropical Traditions offered to send me a jar of coconut oil in exchange for a review on my blog, I was eager to accept.  I'd been wanting to try coconut oil for a long time after reading so many bloggers' recipes and opinions on it, so this was the perfect opportunity.

Being that Thanksgiving was around the corner, Hubby mentioned his love of pecan pie.  Since I am trying to avoid corn syrup, I wanted a recipe for pecan pie that didn't use any.  I thought it would be difficult to find one since most pecan pie recipes typically involve a high dose of HFCS.  Fortunately, I found an easy, corn syrup-free pecan pie recipe and Tropical Traditions had a pie crust recipe as well.

And heeere we go!  I gathered all the ingredients for my crust:

Measured out the coconut oil (yes, it looks like that in the jar.  It melts when you heat it up)...

...and added it to my mixer along with the other ingredients.

Mix everything together until it becomes crumbly and starts to smoosh together.  I ended up having to use about twice as much ice water as called for in the recipe to get the dough to this point.  No biggie.

Mmm...pie crust dough :)

Roll it out (you don't even have to chill the dough - how sweet is that?).

...and press it into your pie dish.  Not too shabby for my first time making pie from scratch, I must say :)

Once your crust is ready, preheat your oven and start mixing the ingredients for the filling.  Here I'm beating two eggs until they foam up.

Add melted butter, white sugar, brown sugar, flour, and vanilla extract.

Don't forget the pecans!

Here's the deliciousness you'll end up with.

Pour prepared filling into your pie crust.

I added a few more pecans on top for extra crunch.  That and they made the pie look prettier.

Pop the pie into the oven for about 50 minutes.  Do the dishes while you wait.

Et voila!  Looks tasty, right? :)

Pecan piiiiiie.  I think the pecans on top look just right :)

I have to be honest - I was not a fan of the coconut oil crust, nor was Hubby.  The coconut flavor was a bit overpowering for me, so next time I think I'll use half coconut oil and half butter, as the recipe suggests.  My mom did enjoy it and said it reminded her of coconut cream pie - once a Southerner, always a Southerner :)

All of us enjoyed the filling, however, and I would definitely use it again in a different crust - maybe graham cracker or gingersnap next time?

If you'd like a freebie from Tropical Traditions, visit http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/referral_program.htm and enter User ID 6501458 to receive a FREE copy of their Virgin Coconut Oil Book with your first order.  It's packed with recipes and information on the health benefits of coconut oil.

Disclaimer: I received a free 42 oz. jar of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil from Tropical Traditions.  I was not paid for this review and all opinions are my own.