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Fun with Strawberries – Pie Edition | May 18, 2017

Strawberries are red
Blackberries are blue
Add a little crust
And bake a pie just for you!

Luckily, my baking skills are better than my poetry.  Let’s talk pie.  I have said it before, and this won’t be the last time, but when you have the proper equipment, even hard things are easy.

For this pie, I got to use the Tovolo Strawberry Huller. I love this little tool! It takes the hull, the whole hull, out of the strawberry in one little push! It is one of my very favorite helpers in the kitchen. Once hulled, cut your smaller strawberries in half and larger ones in quarters.

I think there is a perception that making homemade pies is difficult or that pie crust is tricky. Once you know a few simple tips, pie crust making is a breeze.

First – everything must be cold. Cold butter is crucial. Cold water makes all the difference, too. I fill my measuring cup with ice and then pour in the water. This keeps the water super cold and then I just go in with my measuring spoon and take what I need out of the ice-cold cup. Cold ingredients = flaky crust.

Second – don’t overwork your dough. It shouldn’t be a shiny ball of dough. Let it be a little crumbly. You should see small chunks of butter in it. This is best achieved by using the Tovolo Pastry Blender and then your hands. Once the butter and dry ingredients are incorporated, add one or two teaspoons of cold water at a time and gently mix the dough with your hands until it sticks together. Then STOP!

Third – Chill your dough for at least an hour before you roll it out. Again, cold = flaky.

Once chilled, lightly flour the Tovolo Pastry Mat and begin rolling out your first of two doughs. Once rolled, use the super-ingenious Tovolo Precision Pie Crust Cutter to cut the crust to the proper size. Then use the Tovolo Bench Scraper to transfer the pie crust to your pie plate. Easy peasy!

The top crust is yours to be creative. A lattice design is the most common, but if you go to Pinterest and look up pie crust design – WHOA! The sky is the limit. I use cookie cutters to make a woodland critter-themed pie with squirrel and bunnies. I also took thinly cut strips of crust and braided them together to make a border – it makes you look like you know what you’re doing.

Lastly, this pie is delicious but a mess. It is best served in a bowl with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. I added a few blackberries for a little tartness and texture contrast. Enjoy!

STRAWBERRY PIE & ALL-BUTTER PIE CRUST

YIELDS 1 pie  |  PREP TIME  35 min + chilling time  |  PRINT PDF

Pie Crust Recipe
Yield: 2 pie crusts
Prep Time: 15 minutes + 1-hour chilling

INGREDIENTS

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. fine sea salt
20 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
6-8 Tbsp. ice water, as needed

DIRECTIONS
  • In a bowl, add flour and salt. Add butter and using the Tovolo Pastry Blender, cut in butter until the mixture forms lima bean-size pieces. Slowly add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and mix with your hands until the dough just comes together. It should be moist, but not wet.
  • Turn dough out onto a lightly-floured Tovolo Pastry Mat and gather into a ball. Flatten into a disk with the heel of your hand. Cut dough into 2 equal parts with the Tovolo Bench Scraper. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

 

Strawberry Pie Filling Recipe
Yield: One 10” Pie
Prep time: 20 minutes + 45 minutes baking time

INGREDIENTS

5-6 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced in half
Optional: ½ cup other berries
½ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
Large pinch of salt
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. white or rosé wine
Heaping ¼ tsp. ground ginger
1 large egg, beaten
Granulated sugar for topping the unbaked pie

DIRECTIONS
  • To make the filling, in a medium bowl toss together strawberries, sugars, cornstarch, salt, lemon juice, wine, and ground ginger. Toss until all of the cornstarch has disappeared into the strawberries and let rest for 10 minutes. The strawberries will begin to produce juice.
    Spoon filling into pie crust.
  • Roll out the top crust, cut to your preferred design, and add on top of the strawberries.
  • To finish, place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a Tovolo Silicone Baking Mat and set aside.
  • Brush the egg wash over top pie crust, then sprinkle with sugar.
  • Place pie on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes at 400°F, then reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake the pie for 30 minutes more, or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before serving.