It’s the end of the summer and strawberries are on sale in the grocery stores and farmer’s markets. We all have our favorite ways of eating strawberries, whether straight out of the basket or as part of a complicated dessert. Last summer, my husband and I spent two days making endless jars of strawberry jam for Christmas gifts. We’re still enjoying last year’s bounty!
I’ve shared with you before my love of baking pies and the legacy of my mom’s pie-making wonders. She could take any fresh fruit and bake it into a dazzling pie. I remember her experimenting with strawberries. She came up with her own dependable masterpiece recipe combining hints and tricks from several other sources.
For my mom’s recipe, start with a pre-baked pie crust, either a crumb crust (graham cracker) or a shortcrust (shortening or lard). Combine the sugar, water, and corn starch in a saucepan and cook on low heat till clear and thick. Stir in strawberry gelatin till dissolved. Gently add thinly sliced strawberries. Pour into the baked pie shell. Place even-sized whole berries onto the top layer of the strawberry mixture for decoration. You will need extra strawberries for this step. Chill several hours till the filling is set. Serve with sweetened fresh whipped cream.
Are you ready for the applause coming after you serve this pie?
1 baked pie shell
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups water
4 tablespoons cornstarch
3 oz pkg strawberry flavored gelatin
2 quarts strawberries