Strawberry Pie

Pies are one of my favorite desserts.  In the spring strawberry pies made with sweet, fresh strawberries are hard to resist.  This recipe uses a graham cracker crust, but you can use a traditional homemade or store bought crust if you prefer.

Recipe adapted from Food Network

Ingredients:

Crust-

1 sleeve reduced fat graham crackers crushed

3 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil

Filling-

3 pounds strawberries

¼ cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Whip Cream Optional-

½ cups heavy cream

1 tablespoons confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:

Crust-

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Add graham cracker crumbs to food processor and pulse to a fine crumb.
3. Add melted coconut oil.  Pulse to mix. 
4. Use a spatula to press crumbs into pie pan.  Gently press down.
5. Bake for 10 minutes. 

Filling-

1. Quarter 2 pounds of the strawberries.  Dice 1 pound.  Slice 1 pound.
2. Add the pound of diced strawberries to a medium bowl.  Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sugar and let sit at room temperature.
3. Put the 2 pounds of quartered strawberries in a medium pot with cornstarch, lemon juice, and 1/3 cup granulated sugar.  Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook stirring often until mixture is thick and jammy in 15-20 minutes. 
4. Remove strawberries from heat.  Let cool for at least 10 minutes.
5. Stir the macerated strawberries into the cooked strawberries.
6. Pour the strawberries into the crust. 
7. Decorate the top of the pie with sliced strawberries in a concentric circle or other pattern. 
8. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

Whip Cream-

1. Whip the cream with confectioners sugar, vanilla, and cream of tartar until it holds stiff peaks.