With Memorial Day coming up, many people are planning to BBQ. Hamburgers, hot dogs, and maybe even steaks will be on the menu, but what about dessert?
Well, I may just have the perfect sweet for the summer, Strawberry Pie. My family and I love strawberries, my dad probably most of all. Every year he requests this pie for his birthday, and every year we as a family look forward to it. It’s simple, refreshing, and really lets the strawberry flavor shine. Here’s how to make it:
Birthday Strawberry Pie
For the crust
Ingredients
1 1/4 C All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Tbs Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 Butter (cold, cut into 1 in cubes)
3 Tbs Ice Water
Method
Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Once mixed, add in butter and pulse until you get a coarse meal. Slowly add ice water, 1 Tbs at a time, and pulse between each addition. It should become quite clumpy. To get the flakiest crust, it is important to keep the butter as cold as possible so handle it minimally. Form the dough into a ball, then smash it into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
After it is chilled, roll it out and fit it into an 8-9 inch pie pan. Crimp the edges using whatever technique you’d like, watch the video above to see how I do it.
You are going to blind bake the crust, meaning you cook the filling and crust separately. Preheat the oven to 425F. Prick the crust with a fork to help prevent air bubbles. spray a piece of parchment paper with non-stick cooking spray and place it spray-side down into the crust. Fill the crust with pie weights or dried beans, this will keep the crust from rising too much. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, remove the weights, and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes at 375F. The crust should come out fully cooked and golden brown.
For the Filling
Ingredients
2 qts. Strawberries (may have some extra)
1 C Sugar
3 Tbs Cornstarch
1 C Water ( split into 2/3 and 1/3 cup)
Method
First, to make the glacé combine 1 cup of sliced strawberries with 2/3 cup of water in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Let them cook down for a few minutes until the water takes on a pink hue. While that cooks, combine 1 cup of sugar, 3 tbs of corn starch, and 1/3 cup of water in a bowl. Mix until there are no lumps. Then slowly add the mixture to the simmer strawberries, mixing the entire time. Stir for about 1 minute, or until it all dissolves and becomes a uniform color.
Cut up the rest of the strawberries into bite-sized pieces while the glacé cools, you don’t want to go too small. See how many it takes to fill the crust and that is how much you should use. Adjust accordingly. Once the crust and glacé are room temperature, combine the strawberries with the glacé so they get thoroughly coated and pour the mixture into the crust.
Enjoy!