You guys. First, let me apologize for the pictures. They’re not my finest. I ran out of time to make the pie and take photos this past week for our monthly pie along. So I had to hurry and do it before work on Saturday. And our lighting in our kitchen. Um. Fluorescent lights. Enough said about that. I think the point is to show you step-by-step instructions when making the pie so you can follow along. I think we’ve accomplished that. Just look past the fuzzy, fluorescent lit photos, umkay?

Next, when we started this pie-along, it was so we could make seasonal pies. What I didn’t really put much thought into was the Daenel lives in Louisiana and I live in Northern Pennsylvania. Can we just say different growing seasons? It hasn’t been an issue. Until now. See, earlier we were all in the same growing season because it was winter. And the only thing really in season was citrus. And it wasn’t exactly in season in the North, but you get the point. So when May rolled around, I thought Strawberry-Rhubarb pie would be just the thing. It should have been in season in the South and just coming into season for me. But as it turns out, season’s already passed for rhubarb in LA. It was an oh, so sad a discovery since Daenel hasn’t had rhubarb in a very long time and the recipe we found used brown sugar instead of white sugar. I was so looking forward to it. But what’s a girl to do when presented with lemons? Make Strawberry Pie, of course!

Now, if you’ve ever been to a Shoney’s before, you’ll know what kind of strawberry pie we’re looking to make. The kind that has that fun jello-like filling along with strawberries, a flaky pie crust, and whip topping. But we’re not using jello. And we have flaky crust and homemade whip cream. The recipe comes from the House of Nash Eats blog and is so super simple to make. Which is a nice relief since we’ve had some doozy pie recipes lately (see here and here). But let’s get to making pie!

The Recipe:

The Crust:
1 pie crust, blindbaked (for my pie crust recipe see this post)

Blind bake the pie crust by rolling out the pie crust and placing it into a pie plate, trimming any excess and crimping the edges.  Line the pie shell with a double layer of aluminum foil, covering the edges to prevent burning.  Fill the shell with pie weights and bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes until the pie dough looks dry and light in color.  Then remove the pie weights and the foil and continue to bake until the crust is a deep golden brown, about 10 to 12 minutes longer.  Remove from oven and cool completely, about 1 hour, before filling.

For the Filling:
8 cups fresh strawberries, washed and hulled
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water

Puree 1 cup of the strawberries in a food processor or by mashing thoroughly with a fork.  

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch, then add the water and strawberry puree.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Cook for 3 more minutes, until the strawberry mixture turns thick and translucent. Set aside and let cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, cut any larger strawberries in halves or even fourths and place in a large bowl.  Add the glaze and gently fold with a spatula until the berries are evenly coated.  Fill the cooled pie crust with the strawberry pie filling, piling them into a mound and turning any cut sides to face down.  If you want a “prettier” pie, you can arrange the strawberries in the pie shell first, then spoon the glaze over the top.  Chill for 2 hours until set.

For Whipped Topping:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Prepare the whipped cream by beating the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth, thick, and nearly doubled in volume, forming soft peaks.  Serve the pie with the fresh whipped cream within 5 hours of chilling for the best results.

Tips & Tricks:

Surprisingly, I don’t have a lot of tips and tricks this month. I do have a couple of suggestions though.
1. I don’t use powdered sugar in my whipped topping, but rather a tsp or two of white sugar.
2. I thought the pie was very sweet so I will work on decreasing the sugar in the filling next time.
3. Make sure you fill the pie crust and then eat it within a couple of hours, otherwise the crust will get soggy.

That’s it. I don’t like blindbaking my crust. I just am not good at it yet. I’ll keep working on it. And my crimping left something to be desired this time too. I’m just going to blame that on being rushed and doing a rushed job! Yeah. That’s what it was. I hope you make this pie. I think you’ll keep coming back to it again and again throughout the summer! What an easy and delicious pie to make and take to your picnics, bbq’s, and everything else this year (and beyond)! I can’t wait to see everyone’s results next week! Until then–happy pie making!