Fresh Strawberry Pie

April 27, 2015

I love this pie that tastes more like strawberries than the berries themselves. Some of the berries are cooked down to make a glaze that is then drizzled over a mountain of fresh berries. Smaller berries work best for this pie, as they create little pockets for the glaze to run into, cementing the pie together. If you have big berries, cut them in half.

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups finely crushed vanilla wafers or shortbread cookies (about 42)

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided

5 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

8 cups hulled strawberries, divided

2 tablespoons water

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Whipped cream (optional)

Preparation

Recipe adapted from Jim Fobel’s Old-Fashioned Baking Book: Recipes from an American Childhood (Lake Isle Press, 1995).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine wafer crumbs, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and butter; press into a 9-inch pie dish. Bake for 10 minutes or until set and barely beginning to brown. Cool.
Quarter 2 cups strawberries and combine with 2 tablespoons water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat while mashing strawberries. Cook about 2 minutes or until very juicy. Push mashed berries through a sieve, pressing with a spoon and discarding solids that remain. Measure juice and add water to measure 1 cup.
Combine sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Gradually whisk in strawberry juice and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until thickened. Boil 1 minute or until translucent. Remove from heat and stir in remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Toss strawberries and glaze together until berries are coated. Pile into pie shell. Chill 2 hours or until set. Serve cold with whipped cream, if desired.