Strawberry Pie recipe

Recipe and Photo by Rosie Hawthorne

Ingredients:

1 pie crust, baked and cooled (the pre-made ones in the refrigerator aisle work just fine for this recipe)
1 qt. strawberries, plus extras for garnishing
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
¼ cup cold water
1 Tbsp. butter
8 ounces cream cheese (softened)

Directions:

• Rinse and trim strawberries and pour into a medium saucepan. Mash strawberries and bring them to a boil. Stir in sugar.
• In a separate container, pour cold water into cornstarch, stirring to dissolve completely.
• Pour corn starch slurry into strawberries on stovetop, stirring to mix. Bubble ingredients slowly over medium heat for about 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in the butter.
• Mix 4 tablespoons of the strawberry mixture with the cream cheese. Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the bottom of the pie crust.
• Pick out some of your prettiest berries and press them into the cream cheese, tips pointing up.
• Pour the remaining strawberry mixture filling the remainder of the pie shell. If you have any of the strawberry mixture leftover, save it as homemade strawberry jam the next morning for breakfast.

Variation: Another strawberry favorite of mine that might sound a bit odd is sliced strawberries marinated in a drizzle of Balsamic vinegar and a sprinkling of sugar. The tart and sweet combination elevates and accentuates the berries. This particularly helps strawberries that aren’t as ripe as you’d like them to be. Try it. You may be happily surprised.

STRAWBERRY BUYING AND STORING TIP: We pack a bunch of capped and cleaned strawberries in small, individual snack-sized baggies and then freeze them. These are perfect for making fruit smoothies all year long. You will not want to dilute your smoothies by adding ice cubes; just using the frozen berries will give you the intense fruit flavor you want in a smoothie.

Strawberry Smoothie

Add a half cup of cream or milk to a cup of frozen strawberries. Add a little sugar and a drop of vanilla extract and process until smooth. That drop of vanilla is the ‘je ne sais quoi.’

Author: Rosie Hawthorne

Rosie Hawthorne is a blogger, gardener, wanderluster, and mother of three.  She learned to cook by watching Julia Child every Saturday afternoon on her 11-inch black and white TV with legal pad and pen in hand. For the Hawthornes, every meal is a celebration of life.