Strawberry Pie

There’s something about strawberries that really makes for a great dessert. It’s the tartness, sweet ripeness, and the way it blends in with sugar. It's a pie that can please everyone. I mean, who hates strawberry pie?!

When making strawberry pie, I was looking for two things: a buttery flaky crust, and an abundant strawberry filling with the right consistency. This recipe has something special going for it, thanks to a combination of cornstarch and pectin. Why you may ask? Well... to get that perfect “sauce” that coats the strawberries, you need a combination of both. If you use gelatin, it’ll just be strawberry Jell-O mixed with fresh strawberries (which I’m not against at all… but would rather save it for a different occasion), but this pie won’t be like that at all. With the cornstarch and pectin, it’ll come together like a light glaze that melts in your mouth, kinda like a strawberry syrup mixed with vanilla ice cream. Keep reading on for all of my top tips on how to make this summertime pie, from the filling to the crust.

How To Make Strawberry Pie

INGREDIENTS

• Strawberries: Choose the most beautiful ripe strawberries for the presentation—you can always use the ugly ones for the jam.

• Sugar: It will macerate your strawberries and help create a tart and sweet sauce.

• Cornstarch: Cornstarch gives your pie filling some structure, and helps keep everything together.

• Kosher Salt: Every dessert in the world needs salt. It helps everything taste even better, balances the sweetness, and bring out our other flavors. Don’t skip this!

• Lemon Juice: This helps balance the sweetness of the pie. Without it, it would definitely taste too sweet or just a bit bland. We want some extra tartness from a good lemon. Try to stick to fresh lemon juice. You just never know what you’re gonna get from store-bought.

• Liquid Pectin: This is going to give your filling the consistency you are looking for. Without it, or if you substitute for a different thickener, you may find your sauce either too thin or too thick. Pectin will get you just right.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

First of all, make a batch of pie dough from our recipe—it really is worth foregoing the store-bought route. You want to make sure to leave the dough resting at least 2 hours before rolling it out. You also want to keep in mind to take it out 5 minutes before you want to start rolling to ensure it can come to room temperature slightly. If you start rolling the dough out while it’s too cold, it will crack and just make your life a lot more complicated. Nobody wants that!

Once you have your dough ready to go, make sure you lightly dust the rolling surface with flour (all-purpose in this case), unwrap the pie dough, and place it on the floured counter. Grab a rolling pin from one end and begin tapping the dough with intention to start softening it. This will make your rolling experience more seamless. Tap three times to cover the surface of the dough, rotate a quarter, and keep tapping until the dough’s surface has expanded by 3". Now dust with flour once again on the top and bottom and begin rolling out. With one motion, you’ll start from the middle of the dough and roll out away from you, then from the middle toward yourself. Rotate a quarter and repeat until you have a 12" circle.

Transfer your dough to a 9" pie mold and very gently press down until all the sides and bottom of the pie dish are covered and “stuck” together. You’ll notice an overlap hanging from the pie mold. With a pair of scissors, trim the overhang until you have 1" left. Tuck the overhang under the dough so that you have a thick crust on the sides of the pie. Now you get to pinch! You can use a fork or you can pinch with your fingers if desired. Let this sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Trust me, you don’t wanna skip this, or else your pie dough will shrink dramatically in the oven.

Cut a piece of parchment paper long enough to cover the entire pie. Wrinkle it, unwrap it, and place it on the crust. Fill it in with pie weights, beans, or rice and bake at 375° for 15 minutes, or until the sides are very lightly brown. Remove the pie weights and parchment paper and keep baking for another 10 minutes, or until the crust is dry to the touch and lightly brown in the middle. Let it cool completely.

In a saucepan, place the strawberries, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Cook over medium heat and wait until you start seeing some steam coming out of the strawberries, then start mashing them with a masher until all of the mixtures start to resemble a jam. If you don’t have a masher, you can always blend the strawberries, then pour it into the saucepan before cooking. Cook this for about 8 minutes. You’ll notice how the color changes from a bright red to a more dark and concentrated color. Remove from heat, add the pectin, return to the stovetop, and stir for another minute until you see the texture thickening even more. Transfer to a large bowl and mix in the lemon juice. Let the filling cool.

Once cooled down, add the remaining sliced strawberries and mix to coat all of them with the glaze. Pour into the pie mold and set it in the fridge for about 3 hours. Serve with your favorite ice cream or some whipped cream.

Full list of ingredients and directions can be found in the recipe below.

Storage

If you want to make your pie dough ahead of time, it will keep, covered, in the fridge for up to 3 days before using. Just make sure to allow it to come down to temperature before rolling, to ensure it doesn't crack.