Strawberry Pie

In case you want to make strawberry pie after you read about the Strawberry Filling I used to top my Classic Cheesecake, here is my Mom's delicious Pie Crust Recipe. It is amazing and it's the reason I love pie. Lately, we have been substituting half butter and half coconut oil in place of the Crisco because it has less trans-fat and we all know that trans-fat is not a good thing. The butter/coconut oil crust tastes yummy and a little coco-nutty. However, the coconut oil gets quite hard in the refrigerator and makes the cold crust a little tough to cut. So, you will want to set the pie out to warm a little while before serving for maximum yumminess.

Elaine's Crisco Pie Crust

My mom is famous for this crust.

1 2/3 cups flour (scant)
1 tsp. salt
¾ cups Crisco
1/3 cup water

Measure flour and salt into mixing bowl. Cut in Crisco. Put ¼ cup water into a small bowl add mixture by forkfuls to water to make a paste. Add paste to mixing bowl and lightly knead until you can form 2 even balls. Roll one out on floured, cloth-covered board. Keep other tightly covered. Adjust crust to fit pan. Bake at 425° for 12 to 15 minutes. Treat it lightly and it will be flaky.

Elaine's Fresh Strawberry Pie Filling

2 cups strawberries

1 1/2 cups water

2 cups sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

3 Tab. lemon juice

2 Tab. butter

Smash 2 cups berries. Put them in a saucepan with 1 1/2 cups water and bring it all to a boil. Then simmer for four minutes. While the strawberries are simmering place 2 cups sugar and 1/3 cup cornstarch in a separate bowl and mix together. Add the sugar mixture to the berry mixture and stir and then add 3 Tablespoons lemon juice to the pan. Cook everything until transparent (the cloudy cornstarch turns clear, it takes just a few minutes.) Add 2 Tablespoons butter. Stir until the butter melts. Arrange strawberries on the crust and drizzle the Strawberry Filling over it all. Chill and serve.