Coconut Cream Pie Bars

Coconut Cream Pie Bars FOR THE CRUST: 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 cup vegetable oil 2 tbsp. water FOR THE FILLING: 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup corn starch 2 cups half and half 4 egg yolks 3 tbsp. butter 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut 1 1/2 tsp. coconut extract FOR THE TOPPING: 2 cups heavy whipping cream 1/3 cup sugar 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract sweetened coconut, toasted Preheat oven to 400F degrees Combine crust ingredients and spread into a 9x13 baking dish (note: for more detailed directions on making this crust, click HERE). Poke dough all over with a fork. This keeps the dough from puffing up too much while baking. Bake at 400F degrees for about 10-15 minutes. Crust should be a light golden brown and not "doughy". Let the crust cool. Then prepare the filling. In a bowl, whisk together half and half and egg yolks. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar and cornstarch. Then slowly stir in half and half mixture while continuing to whisk. Bring heat up to high and continue to whisk. Do not leave your pot. Pudding is so easy to make but the minute you walk away, it can thicken up on ya and you have a globby mess. So just hang in there and keep whisking while the mixture comes up to a boil. After a few minutes you will notice it has thickened.Take the saucepan off the heat and stir in 3 tbsp. butter, 1 cup coconut and coconut extract. Stir well. Then spread pudding mixture over crust. Cover with plastic wrap. Then pop it in your fridge to cool for about an hour. Now, for the whipped cream, you will need to use the whisk attachment on your stand mixer (or a bowl and a whisk if doing it by hand). Pour 2 cups heavy whipping cream and turn mixer on to medium-high. Slowly add in sugar and then vanilla. Mix until whipped cream forms soft peaks.Then spread whipped cream over coconut pudding layer. Now for the toasted coconut topping (if you prefer it toasted). Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Put about a cup of coconut on a baking pan. Place it in the oven and bake for about 5-10 minutes. Stir every couple of minutes and don't walk away from oven because it has a tendency to burn the second you walk away. Let toasted coconut cool. Sprinkle bars with toasted coconut then slice, serve and enjoy.