As a society we tend to categorize people. If you've ever been asked if you are a "cat or a dog person", you know what I'm talking about.
This categorizing goes for food preferences as well (remember my last post? There are those that love pickles and those that don't. Proves my point.) The list goes on...waffles vs pancakes, hot dog vs hamburger, chocolate vs vanilla. So this begs the question, are you a cake or a pie person?
I'll tell you right now, I'm a cake person 99% of the time. I firmly believe in the wise words of Julia Child....
Anyway, my father-in-law is just the opposite of me...he's a pie person all the way. For his 50th birthday he requested a strawberry pie, and who am I to deny an old man his birthday dessert ;) (just teasing, PJ!)
So I ventured into the land of pie, and with a little help from my good friend Betty (Crocker, that is), Pinterest, and a no-fail crust recipe I found my 1% exception to the cake vs pie preference.
Ingredients
Pie
2 lbs fresh strawberries
1 cup sugar
8oz cream cheese
1/3 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Crust
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups crisco shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold water
1 egg
For the crust....
Using a fork, crumble together the flour, sugar, salt, and crisco in a large mixing bowl. The texture should be course crumbs. Add your egg and vinegar, mix until a dough beings to form. Add the water a tablespoon at a time until dough is formed, but not sticky. Sometimes you only need a few tablespoons of water! If the dough becomes too wet, add a bit more flour.
Press the dough into a pie pan. Pretty edges optional :)
Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Check frequently to avoid burning the edges.
Remove from oven when golden brown and cool completely
While that's baking, you can rinse and slice your strawberries
For the filling....
Combine cream cheese, sour cream, 1/4 cup of sugar, and vanilla extract to bowl. Beat on high for 2 minutes, scraping the sides with a spatula occasionally.
When pie crust is cool, spread cream cheese mixture into a single layer on the bottom
Next, layer half of your fresh strawberries into pie shell.
To make your filling, dice remaining strawberries into tiny pieces. My sister called it "bruschetta sized". I used my pampered chef food chopper, but you could use a food processor or an old fashion knife if you're feeling patient.
Add diced strawberries to a saucepan with remaining sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture begins to thicken. Immediately pop it in the fridge to cool down.
Once it's cooled, cover the fresh strawberries with the filling
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serve with whipped cream or a side of vanilla ice cream, if you're the a la mode type ;)
If you need to transfer your pie from point A to point B, I suggest freezing before your travels. You can also serve this pie frozen if you so please.
Happy baking, friends!