Easy Thanksgiving Strawberry Pie
A simple to make fresh strawberry pie that everyone will love. If you cannot get fresh strawberries, then you can use frozen. Just allow them to thaw before arranging on pie crust.
How do you keep strawberry pie crust from getting soggy?
An egg white glaze can stop a soggy crust from forming. Prebake the pie crust as directed and let cool. Brush the crust with a lightly beaten egg white; bake 4 more minutes to set the glaze. Continue with the recipe as directed.
How do you thicken strawberry pie filling?
The cornstarch in this recipe acts as a thickening agent for the filling. It easily dissolves, doesn’t have an overly starchy flavor or texture, and creates the perfect consistency, allowing the pie to hold its shape when slicing.
The most challenging issue you encounter when pre-baking a homemade crust is slumping sides. Homemade crusts especially have a high-fat content. The fat melts when heated in the oven, and unless there is a filling to prop up the sides of the pie crust, it can slump.
Another issue is billowing air pockets in the center. If you don’t blind bake with weights, or poke holes into the bottom of the crust, the bottom of the crust can puff up.
Ingredients
1/2 Perfect Pie Crust Recipe (Perfect Pie Crust)
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup of water
1 package (3 ounces) strawberry gelatin
4 cups sliced fresh strawberries
Whipped Cream for topping
Preparation
Roll out pie crust, carefully place into 9-inch pie plate and leave a generous edge.
Freeze the pie crust in the pie plate for about an hour.
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Make sure you are starting with a frozen pie crust, not defrosted. Your pie crust should be in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour.
Line the inside of the frozen pie crust with foil: Use heavy-duty aluminum foil, pressing the foil against the sides and bottom of the crust, allowing the foil to extend by a couple of inches on two opposing sides.
Fill the pie crust to the top with pie weights. You can use ceramic weights, dry beans, rice, or white sugar. Sugar works well because of its small granule size; it distributes the weight more evenly against the crust. (Baking the sugar this way also lightly caramelizes it, making it even more flavorful if you want to use it later for baking recipes.)
Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes if making a crust for a pie that you will cook further, like a quiche. Bake for 60 minutes if making a crust for a pie that will need no further baking.
Remove the pie shell from the oven. Using the excess foil on 2 sides of the pie shell, lift out the pie weights from the pie shell. Let the pie weights cool. Store them for future use.
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and water until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in gelatin until dissolved. Refrigerate until slightly cooled, 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, arrange sliced strawberries in the crust. Pour gelatin mixture over berries. Refrigerate until set.
Serve with whipped cream.
Keywords: dessert
