ORANGE BEACH — Kimberly Asbury has been a pastry chef for over 20 years and is the general manager at BuzzCatz Coffee & Sweets in Orange Beach. Her sugar-coated brain creates creative dishes that she and her staff bake to fill the bellies of hungry visitors.

Her years of experience and awards are why Gulf Coast Media sat down with her to secure baking tips for our home cook readers. The holidays are upon, entertaining is in full swing, and this time of year tends to be when people want to try their hand at baking something to impress. It's OK, we have all been there at least once. But a lack of experience, an untested recipe and pressure can be a recipe for disaster.

Asbury's top tip is that this is not the time to try something new. She suggests testing a recipe in advance to ensure it works.

Along those same lines, Asbury stressed that bakers should make sure their recipe source is reliable. Anyone can take a couple of recipes, switch and adjust ingredients and publish them online, but baking is science and a small shift in the amount of an ingredient could result in a failure.

"Go to our comment section. What you are going to find in the comment section are people that have tried the recipe," Asbury said. "You will see people that have attempted the recipe and people that tried and it didn't work. If you see too many of those then you know it is not for everybody."

One of the sources Asbury trusts and uses regularly is America's Test Kitchen. She said the reason she trusts their recipes is because they are tested repeatedly by more than 60 test cooks. They try new recipes with different types of ingredients until they are satisfied before sending the recipe to home cooks to test. If you are looking for a recipe to try this holiday season, www.americastestkitchen.com is the place to go. (The website does require a membership, but they are currently offering a 14-day free trial.)

TIPS FROM THE PRO

• Store-bought pie crust, puff pastry and frozen bread dough are great shortcuts that Asbury suggests using. No one will know unless you tell them, and you are only limited by your own creativity.
• Read through the recipe you will be making at least twice before starting to ensure you understand each step. Sometimes recipe steps will call for reserving a portion of an ingredient.
• Preheat your oven.
• Use the recommended temperature.
• Check for doneness using the oven light instead of opening the door.
• Layer your pecans in the pie shell and then pour the mixture over the top. The pecans will get coasted with the sugars before floating to the top. The sugar will caramelize and another an extra layer of flavor. Asbury also suggests a small handful of mini chocolate chips in a pecan pie.

Coconut Impossible Pie

What is a baking article without a recipe? Asbury shared a recipe her mother makes that is also on the BuzzCatz holiday pie ordering menu.

The interesting thing about this pie is it makes its own crust. Yes, you read that right. Asbury said it isn't a traditional crust, but it is good and worth trying.

"My mom used to say it is impossible to mess it up. She is right," Asbury said with a smile. "The only way you'll mess it up is if you mix it and you have too many bubbles. You have got to make sure there are no bubbles."

If you are looking for a pie to bring to a holiday celebration, give this one a try and watch the magic happen.

"In the baking process, as it settles and starts to heat that flour that has been mixed in starts to sink and settles. The coconut floats to the top and what is caught in between is the egg mixture," Asbury explains. "It is not like a classic pie crust, but it sets itself and has a funny sort of doughiness to it."

Makes 1 – 9-inch pie

Ingredients:

• 4 large eggs
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ½ cup flour
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups milk
• ½ stick butter (4 tbsp), melted
• 1 ½ cups shredded coconut
• ¾ cup sugar

Instructions:

1. Beat eggs, salt, flour, vanilla and sugar together.
2. Mix in melted butter until fully incorporated.
3. Gradually add milk while mixing. Try to avoid making any bubbles in the mixture.
4. Add shredded coconut and mix well.
5. Pour into a 9-inch pie pan that has been buttered and dusted with sugar.
6. Bake 50 minutes at 350 degrees. The pie forms its own crust as it bakes. The filling will rise a little like a souffle and sink back once cooled. Check halfway through baking as you may need to cover the pie if the edges get too dark.
7. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream.