Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut....HOT FIX!

I am an organizer by nature, and admittedly, I tend to plan our weekly meals in advance, along with many of the other dishes and treats that I make. That being said, every once in awhile, something comes along that just has to be taken care of as quickly as I can get to my kitchen. In my work, we would call that a "Hot Fix". And since this week's crash course in sugar overdose came from a co-worker, that's what we're calling it.
Sitting in our group lab yesterday, one of the lovely ladies I work with asked me, "So, are you a 'baker' or more of a 'cooker'?" Being a loaded question, I replied that I do tend to gravitate more toward cooking than baking, but I do make my fair share of sweets as well.
She had been in a nearby town over the weekend, and had lunch with her sister at a local eatery. From the dessert menu, she had ordered a treat dubbed "Almond Joy Pie" and wanted to know if it could be re-created. After doing some research online, I found a recipe that sounded close to what she described and after making a few modifications, realized that I already had all the ingredients for it at home. Since the dinner I had planned last night involved allowing a coup to simmer for awhile, I decided I had time to try this one out.
The recipe I found and am including below, also had instructions for a homemade crust. However, one of the deciding factors enticing me to make it was the fact that I knew I had one lonely frozen pie shell tossing about in my freezer, begging to to be used up. So, I skipped the crust and moved on to the filling. As it turns out, this is going to be a dangerous addition to my repertoire, because it has only a few ingredients, none of which are perishable and can be kept in the pantry indefinitely, and it goes together in about five minutes. Seriously. The original recipe is below, but here are the instructions, including my changes. Here's how it goes.
Preheat the oven to 350.
If you are a slacker like me, break out a frozen pie shell. Pour a think layer of chocolate chips in the bottom of the shell.Top with about a cup and a half of shredded coconut.Pour a can of sweetened condensed milk over the top of the coconut. Then let the concoction rest for five minutes or so to let it soak in a little.Top with whole almonds. After tasting the pie, we decided it could have used more almonds.Cover with greased foil (I used my trusty Reynolds Release wrap), and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the coconut is golden on top.Melt about a cup of chocolate chips with about a quarter cup of half and half and spread it over the top of the pie, then allow it to cool thoroughly.NOTE: the pie looked a little sloshy to me when I pulled it out of the oven, but I was afraid if I left it in any longer, the coconut might burn. I needn't have worried. The filling was firmly set when I cut into it this morning.
The original recipe says it can be stored at room temperature, but I put it in the fridge just to help it set up last night.If you have enough people around, it won't last long enough to worry about leftovers anyway. I brought the pie in this morning and it wasn't even 9:00 before we cut into it.
Aside from being slightly stickier than an Almond Joy bar, it tastes exactly like one. WARNING - this pie is extremely rich. You will want to make sure you have a large quantity of coffee or cold milk on standby when you are serving this one.Original recipe:

Almond Joy Pie
Most "Almond Joy Pie" recipes I see use the actual candy bar in the recipe. This one does not, but the finished product takes like an almond joy.

Crust:

2 egg whites

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups finely chopped almonds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat egg whites until foamy; add cream of tartar. Gradually add sugar and continue beating until stiff and glossy. Fold in almonds. Spread mixture over bottom and sides of a greased 10-inch pie pan. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool.

Pie:

1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups shredded coconut

1 can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour chocolate chips into cooled pie crust; top with coconut. Drizzle sweetened condensed milk over the top. Set aside 3 to 5 minutes.

Spray a sheet of foil with cooking spray. Cover pie loosely (try to keep the foil from touching the pie) with greased foil and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 20 minutes, or until coconut is golden brown. Cool completely before cutting. Store at room temperature.