One of these days, I’m going to dedicate an entire post to the best foods of summer. We’ll talk about cherries, and pimiento cheese, the the perfect BLT– for which I have spent my whole life searching!
But for today, we’re going to dwell on just one summer delight that is worthy of its own post– strawberry pie.
Not just any strawberry pie– my Mamaw’s strawberry pie!
Why is her’s better than any other version you find on the internet? A couple of reasons– for one, it involves cream cheese. As I’ve said before, there are few things in life that cannot be improved upon by cream cheese. For another reason– she does not mess with strawberry Jello. Jello just ruins the integrity of the strawberry. AND the pie. If you like Jello, fine, but get it away from my pie.
And of course, it’s better because my Mamaw’s anything is better than pretty much everything.
I could not find her actual recipe– and did not want to bug her for it again, because she has sent it to me at least 3 times in my adult life (clearly, I get the same craving every June; it was especially intense when I was pregnant!) so I’m going off of 1) memory, and 2) my own modifications. But I promise you, this is better than any version of strawberry pie, or strawberry no-bake cheesecake, or strawberry Jello-mess that you will find on Pinterest.
First, blend together a block of cream cheese, 2 eggs, 3/4 c. sugar, and a splash of vanilla extract. The heavy lifting is done now. Seriously, that is the most work you will have to do for this pie.
Dump the cream cheese mixture into a pre-made pie crust (I use the store brand or Pillsbury frozen kind, mostly thawed out); and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, or until the center firms up.
While that is baking, wash and cut up about 2 cups of strawberries (or enough to cover the pie). Mamaw just trims the stems and then puts the whole berries on top. It makes for a much prettier pie her way, but I like to half or quarter the berries because it’s just easier to eat that way.
When the pie is finished baking, dump the berries on top. Then, on the stovetop mix together about 1 c. of water, 1/2 c. of sugar, and 2 tbs of cornstarch to make a glaze. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk until it is the desired consistency. (You may want to add more water, or more cornstarch until you get it right; you want it to be thick enough to slowly drip off of a spoon– but not a glue-like substance!)
Mamaw adds a few drops of red food coloring– but when you have children, keeping food coloring in the house is an invitation for disaster, so I don’t touch the stuff. You really don’t need it– especially if you plan to top your slice with whipped cream anyway, which of course you will.
myweirdvegetariankid 