Perfect Time for Strawberry Pie

Last week some of my art students brought me some fresh picked strawberries which made us hungry for strawberry pie.

Many years ago one of my co-workers made this pie for me. Her husband was a chef and this recipe was from one of his French cookbooks. Thankfully she shared the recipe and I have been making it ever since.

Years ago I would mix the crust up by hand, but now I like the east of using the food processor.

Pastry Shell

1 cup flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
6 Tablespoons butter, room temperature.
1 egg yolk

I place the flour, sugar and butter in the food processor and then pulse it five to six times. I then add the egg yolk and 2 tablespoons of cold water and mix until everything is combined. I then pat it into a flat round shape, wrap in wax paper and place in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

I like to use a pastry board to roll out my crust and instead of a tart pan I use a 9″ pie plate.

Bake the crust at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the crust is lightly brown. Keep an eye on the crust as it bakes and prick with a fork whenever it begins to bubble. No matter how hard I try as it bakes, the crust seems to get a little wonky and out of shape, but that doesn’t take away from the taste. 🙂

1 (3 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
3 Tablespoons dairy sour cream

Mix the cream cheese and sour cream together and spread on bottom of crust.

1 ½ quarts strawberries
1 C. sugar
3 Tablespoons cornstarch

Wash and decap berries. Mash enough uneven ones to make 1 cup (I put them in the food processor or blender).

Mix sugar and cornstarch. Add ½ cup water and mashed berries. Cook over medium heat, stirring until mixture is clear and thickened. Boil 1 minute. Stir to cool slightly.