Coconut Crunch (pie?)

Last week Erin and I stayed in Iowa City and had Thanksgiving with my family. We usually have at least some people come and share the meal with us, but I think this year was a record--I think we had at least 30 people there! Erin and I were in charge of bringing pies. Other people were planning to bring pies as well, but I wanted to make sure there was plenty to go around and so we went kind of crazy with the pie-making. We made a chocolate chip pecan pie and a pumpkin custard pie (both courtesy of Emeril; see Good Morning America online for recipes), another pumpkin cream pie (made with pumpkin-flavored pudding, cool whip and graham cracker crust), two buttermilk pies served with raspberry topping (these were a really big hit! see past post for recipe), we bought a frozen mincemeat pie specifically for grandma's consumption, and I made this Coconut Crunch dessert (see recipe below, courtesy of Erin's mom).

I need to tell one quick story about the Coconut Crunch: The first time that my family met Erin's family was out in Utah prior to our wedding. Erin's parents invited us to their home and served us a delicious dessert--Coconut Crunch. We all loved it, especially my mom. I still tease Erin about it because pie is her favorite dessert (and I think this is true of her family as well), and I like to point out that even when serving a dessert that is not technically pie, they still served a very pie-like dessert. So the debate continues...I say Coconut Crunch counts as a pie, Erin says it doesn't. Try this delicious recipe and tell us what you think!

• ½ cup butter, melted
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/4 cups, flaked coconut
• 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 3.4 oz pkg Instant vanilla pudding mix
• 3.4 oz pkg Instant coconut pudding mix
• 2 2/3 cup cold milk
• 2 cups whipped topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the first 5 ingredients; press lightly into a lightly greased 13 x 9" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 min or until golden brown, stirring every 10 minutes to form coarse crumbs and prevent burning the edges. Cool.
Press crumb mixture into the same baking pan for crust, reserving about 3/4 cups for topping.
In a mixing bowl, beat pudding mixes and milk together till they thicken. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon over crust. Top with remaining crumb mixture.
Keep Refrigerated.