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Strawberry Pie for 4th of July

Servings: 8
Comments:
Fresh strawberries bake up juicy and aromatic in this shiny fruit pie. Garnish with whipped cream and blueberries for a Fourth of July theme.

Tip:
Strawberries are available year round but are most abundant from April though July. Pick over strawberries, discarding any bad ones. Keep the stems (hulls) of strawberries intact until after they're rinsed and drained, as the opening left by the removal of the stems will allow the berries to absorb water. Rinse the fruit, drain, and gently pat dry. Use your fingers, a paring knife, or a pincher like strawberry huller to remove the stems and the white "hull," which is sort of like the strawberry's core. Strawberry hullers can be purchased at most stores that carry kitchen gadgets and at some supermarkets. They can also be purchased online at Amazon.com and other online kitchenware stores.

Note:
You may use a store-bought 9-inch frozen pie crust in this recipe instead of making the crust from scratch, if desired.

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons milk

OR:
You may use a 9-inch store bought frozen pie crust, baked and cooled

Glaze:
1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
3 tablespoons strawberry gelatine powder

Filling:
2 quarts fresh strawberries, washed and hulled

Garnish (optional):
Whipped Cream or non-dairy whipped topping, thawed
Fresh blueberries

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375ºF/190ºC.

Bake store-bought frozen 9-inch pie crust. Let cool.

OR:

To Make Crust from Scratch:
In a medium size mixing bowl combine the flour, the 2 tablespoons sugar, salt, vegetable oil and milk until well blended. Place mixture into a 9-inch pie dish. Using your hands, spread mixture to cover the bottom and sides of pie dish. Bake crust in preheated oven for 10 minutes, remove from oven and let crust cool.

To Make the Glaze:
In a medium size saucepan combine water, sugar and cornstarch. Bring mixture to a boil, lower the heat to medium and cook until the glaze is clear and has thickened. Remove from the stove and add the strawberry gelatine powder to the glaze, stirring until blended. Let cool.

To Fill and Assemble:
Wash the fresh strawberries, removing the stems. Spoon the strawberries into the cooled pie crust. Pour cooled glaze over the top of strawberries. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Serve with whiped cream or non-dairy whipped topping and fresh blueberries, if desired.

Makes 8 servings.

Date: July 2, 2006