Thursday, April 23, 2009

Strawberry Pie and Perfect Pie Crust


I made this pie for a dear friend after she had a baby and just in case I would have time to blog about it, I took some pictures. Recently she asked for the recipe, so here it is.
I'll start with my pie crust recipe. I realize that you can buy pie crust already made, but I genuinely enjoy making my own. I'm not sure where this recipe originated, but it's been in my family for a long time. I've been making it for probably ten or so years, and it always turns out great. This recipe will yield two or more pies, depending on whether they are double-crust and the size of your pie plate.
Here we go...

Perfect Pie Crust

4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1 TBS sugar
Mix these together, then cut in:
1 3/4 cup crisco (I usually do a bit less)
Just cut in until it looks crumbly, I use a pastry blender at first then usually finish with my hands.
Next mix in the wet ingredients:
1 egg
1/2 cup water
2 TBS vinegar (apple cider or white)
Just mix with a fork until blended. I always roll mine out into a circle and fit into my pan, but you can also press it in. Finish your edges however you like it and that's it. Use this with any pie recipe; I make a bunch for Thanksgiving for pumpkin and chocolate pecan. Also, don't try to use butter in place of the crisco. It spreads too much.
If you are making this for a pie that you will not bake, such as the strawberry pie, you will need to pre-bake the crust. Just line it with foil and bake at 450 for 8 minutes, remove foil and bake for about 4 minutes more.



Now onto the strawberry pie...Again, don't know where this originated.
Use the above pie crust or a graham cracker one is good too.
Place in a saucepan:
1 1/4 cup apple juice
1/2 cup sugar
3 TBS cornstarch
Mix and stir these over medium heat. You want to cook this just until it starts to thicken up. The original recipe said "cook and stir 2 minutes", but it takes longer than that. I just let it cook until it starts to look cloudy and feels thicker with my whisk. You may even turn up the heat a bit.
Remove from heat and stir in:
1 pkg of strawberry jello (4 serving size) I use sugar-free
Stir 2 minutes
Now place about 2 cups sliced strawberries in your crust and pour the mixture over the berries. Chill two hours and of course, serve with whipped cream.

3 comments:

gina said...

wahoo!!!! thanks so much. i'm sure it won't taste as good as yours did, but i can't wait to make it!

nGogo said...

Sounds and looks very yummy! I'm glad you share your talents with others. It is such a blessing to have something delicious given when you have a new baby.

jena said...

Mmmm, looks delicious!