Recipe: Strawberry Pie

Being 3.14, today is Pi day. So I'm making pie. I decided on strawberry because I have those in the freezer & I actually like strawberry pie (I'm picky when it comes to pie). This is the first pie I make - I've made dough before though. This time, the consistency of the dough seemed a little off. I always use the recipe off the shortening or lard box, so I'm not sure what happened. I'll give you the recipe from the back of the Criscoe box I used, but go with the dough recipe you're most comfortable with. Also, fresh strawberries would be much nicer & less liquid-y, but use what you have.

Strawberry Pie

Ingredients:

4-5 cups of strawberries, fresh or thawed, hulled & halved

2 tbsp sugar

2 tsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp lemon juice

3 tbsp corn starch (or less if using fresh strawberries)

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cups shortening

7-8 tbsp ice-cold water

Methods:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.

2. Mix the sugars, cinnamon, lemon juice & corn starch with the strawberries. Let it sit while you prepare the dough.

3. Mix the flour & salt together. Cut in the shortening until you get a grainy texture:- I used my hands since it's SO much easier. But you can use a pastry knife or 2 butter knives if you don't like to get your hand dirty.

4. Gradually add in cold water, mixing with your hands until you can form a ball of dough. Be careful, don't add too much, you don't want it sticky.

5. Divide into 2 halves. Take one & roll it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it until it forms a circle that will cover your pie dish - try to keep the thickness even. Fold the dough in half:Transfer it to your pie pan & press it in. Mine didn't turn out perfectly round, so I had to tear off some bits hanging over the edges to patch in some holes. Just use water to "glue" it together. Or do it perfect the first time, whatever.

6. Fill with your strawberry mixture.

7. Roll out the second ball of dough. Fold it in half & cut a few vent holes into the folded edge. Transfer it to the top of your pie. Spread it out over the top of the strawberries & press the dough edges together. Use a fork to firmly press the edges together. Trim excess dough (and eat it). Apparently I didn't seal the 2 layers well enough or my glass dish wasn't quite right (or perhaps my bottom dough didn't come up high enough in the pan)... because my pie edges didn't stay together. It sort of exploded during the last 20 minutes to baking. But it was still delicious! Before:

After:

8. Bake at 375F for 50 minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if desired. Enjoy!