Coconut cream pie recipes are a great way to make a dessert that's easy but looks impressive. Even coconut cream pie recipes that are all from scratch can be assembled in under an hour, and if you use some time-saving tricks you can cut that down in half.

The first part of all coconut cream pie recipes is the crust. Use a commercial baked crust if you need to save time, but homemade crusts taste better. A simple one can be made by crushing one package of graham crackers and mixing with one stick of softened butter, and then pressing it into the pan.

A more traditional pie crust is made with 1 and a quarter cups flour, ¼ teaspoon salt, half a cup of vegetable shortening and 3 tablespoons ice water. Mix everything together except the water, making the mixture resemble coarse crumbs, and then drizzle the water over the dough. Knead until the dough makes a ball, then roll out into a circle with a rolling pin and coat the bottom and sides of a pie pan with it. This pie crust will work with any coconut cream pie recipes you might find.

The next step in coconut cream pie recipes is the filling. One way to do this from scratch is to use 3 cups half and half, 3 eggs, ¾ a cup sugar, four tablespoons corn starch, one teaspoon of vanilla extract and a cup of toasted coconut flakes (bake them in the oven on 350 degrees for 15 minutes). Mix all the ingredients except the vanilla and coconut in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture starts to boil and thicken. Remove from heat and then add the vanilla and most of the coconut (save a little to garnish the topping with). Pour on top of the crust and refrigerate for several hours.

If you don't have the time to do this, any coconut cream pie recipes can be adapted using a coconut pudding mix. Try a smooth and creamy one like Rawleigh's coconut dessert mix and add the toasted coconut flakes to it and no one will know that you weren't slaving over a hot stove for an hour.

Finally, top the pie with Cool Whip and sprinkled the rest of the toasted coconut on top, and you'll have a pie that compares favorably with the best coconut cream pie recipes.