Icebox Strawberry Pie

Slug Icon WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS Frozen strawberries, which are great for cooking, form the base of our strawberry pie. We cooked them down in a dry saucepan until they released their juice and the mixture was thick, concentrated, and flavorful. Because strawberries are low in pectin, the natural thickener found in citrus fruits and many other plants, we added some lemon juice, which perked up the flavor and tightened the texture of the filling a little. To thicken the filling further, we added a bit of unflavored gelatin. Then we mixed in fresh strawberries for a fresh finish with big, berry flavor. See the sidebar that follows the recipe.

SERVES 8

You can use Classic Single-Crust Pie Dough or No-Fear Single-Crust Pie Dough for this pie. In step 2, it is imperative that the cooked strawberry mixture measure 2 cups; any more and the filling will be loose. If your fresh berries aren’t fully ripe, you may want to add extra sugar to taste in step 3.

1

recipe single-crust pie dough, fitted into 9-inch pie plate and chilled

FILLING

2

pounds (7 cups) frozen strawberries

1

tablespoon unflavored gelatin

2

tablespoons lemon juice

2

tablespoons water

1

cup (7 ounces) sugar

Pinch salt

1

pound fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced thin

TOPPING

4

ounces cream cheese, softened

3

tablespoons sugar

½

teaspoon vanilla extract

1

cup heavy cream

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line chilled crust with double layer of aluminum foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until pie dough looks dry and is light in color, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove weights and foil and continue to bake crust until deep golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes longer. Let crust cool to room temperature on wire rack.

2. FOR THE FILLING: Cook frozen berries in large saucepan over medium-low heat until berries begin to release juice, about 3 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until thick and jamlike, about 25 minutes (mixture should measure 2 cups).

3. Sprinkle gelatin over lemon juice and water in small bowl. Let stand until gelatin is softened and mixture has thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir gelatin mixture, sugar, and salt into cooked berry mixture and return to simmer, about 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

4. Fold fresh berries into filling. Spread evenly in pie shell and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours. (Filled pie can be refrigerated for 24 hours.)

5. FOR THE TOPPING: Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until smooth, about 30 seconds. With mixer running, add cream and whip until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Dollop individual slices of pie with topping and serve.