Family Chow Hall

Real Strawberry Pie for Real People

June 15th, 2006

If your idea of making a homemade strawberry pie includes a pre-made crust from the freezer aisle, a box of strawberries, and a bag of red goo that you found near the strawberries, I feel truly sorry for you.

The red-food-coloring-laden goo (known to some as strawberry-flavored pie filling) has an unrealistic strawberry-bubble-gum flavor that I personally cannot stand. I would rather have nothing at all.

Today I will give to all my readers my mother’s fabulous strawberry pie recipe. The card in her box is labeled “Frisch’s Strawberry Pie.” I’m not sure if this means that she somehow obtained the recipe from Frisch’s restaurant or got it from her neighbors the Frisch’s. Even though I can’t take the credit for this one, it is so good I cannot keep it a secret.

June generally being fresh strawberry season, I hope you can take advantage of the timing and make a couple of these pies for your family, a picnic, potluck, or gathering of friends. Although it’s not listed in the recipe, buy a container of Cool Whip to top it off with. If you miss out on the strawberries, you can try the same recipe for a fresh peach pie - just substitute peaches for the strawberries and peach Jell-O for the strawberry Jell-O.

Fresh Strawberry Pie
makes one 9-inch pie

Crust:
1 T. sugar
1 c. flour
1 stick butter, soft
1 t. baking powder
3 T. hot water

Combine all of these ingredients together in a bowl until you can form a ball with the dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour. Then unwrap it, roll it out on a floured surface and carefully place in a pie pan. Prick the bottom and sides with a fork, and place in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until you can see it beginning to brown. Remove and set aside to cool.

Filling:
1 qt. strawberries - cleaned and cut
3 T. cornstarch
1 c. sugar
1 c. water
2 T. corn syrup
1 small box of strawberry Jell-O

Place the strawberries in the cooled pie shell. In a small saucepan, combine the cornstarch and sugar. Add the water and corn syrup. Heat over medium heat until the mixture becomes thick and almost clear. Remove from the heat and add the Jell-O, stirring well to combine. Pour this over the berries. Chill well before serving.

As I said, this can easily be made into a peach pie. I’ve never tried other berries, but I don’t see why is wouldn’t work beautifully.

Tomorrow: More Ways to use leftover Pork Roast

Entry Filed under: Desserts, Pie, Recipes