WHO DOESN'T LOVE A FRESH STRAWBERRY PIE?

Who doesn't love a fresh strawberry pie?
By GWEN SCHOEN
SCRIPPS HOWARD
There is more than one way to make a strawberry pie, almost all of them wonderful. But if you're hankering for the classic pie, the one made with a simple glaze poured over fresh berries, it's really quite simple.
Perhaps make one for Mom or some other special woman as a Mother's Day treat.
For the best berry flavor, leave the caps on the berries and wait to wash them until just before you plan to use them. The caps help the berries stay fresh.
Small berries can be used whole, but large ones should have the hulls (tough centers) removed. Some people use a berry huller tool for this task, but a small paring knife works just fine. Lift the cap with your fingers and insert the tip of the knife straight down, just under the leaves. Gently twist the berry, and the cap and hull should come out in one piece.
Making it right
To make the pie, begin with a cooked crust such as a traditional pie shell, a graham-cracker or cookie crust or even a meringue shell. Fill the crust with hulled and stemmed berries and pour the glaze over the top.
In our opinion, the best glaze is made with crushed berries cooked with a little water until they release all of their flavor. The juice is strained and mixed with sugar, cornstarch and a tiny bit of salt, then cooked until it turns thick and glossy. The only tricky part is keeping an eye on the glaze to make sure it doesn't scorch as it thickens.
Recently, we were sorting through very old cookbooks and came across one from the 1920s that described a glazed strawberry pie as an elegant dessert that would impress dinner guests. Dinner guests? We'd rather hang the "go away" sign on the door and keep the pie all to ourselves.
GLAZED STRAWBERRY PIE
Once you've had glazed strawberry pie from scratch, you'll never settle for glaze that comes out of a jar. This is a classic recipe that has been passed down by families for generations.
4 cups hulled and washed strawberries
3/4 cup water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Red food coloring, optional
1 (9-inch) baked pie shell
Sweetened whipped cream, optional
Crush 1 cup of berries and place them in a small saucepan with the water. Bring to a simmer and cook 3 minutes. Strain the juice. You should have 1 cup of strained juice; if not, add water to make 1 cup.
Combine the cornstarch, sugar and salt in a clean saucepan. Add the strained juice and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the cornstarch is dissolved and the mixture turns clear and glossy. Add food coloring if desired.
Place the remaining strawberries in a large bowl. Spoon the glaze over the top of the strawberries and gently toss them to cover completely with glaze. Pour the glazed berries into the baked pastry shell and refrigerate until completely chilled and glaze is set. Serve slices topped with whipped cream, if desired.
Serves 8.
SECRET CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY PIE
3 cups sliced strawberries, divided
Water
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 package (3 ounces) strawberry-flavor gelatin
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup Hershey's semisweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons whipping cream, divided
1 baked 9-inch pie crust, cooled
1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
Whipped cream, optional
Whole strawberries, optional
Reserve 2 cups strawberries. Mash remaining 1 cup strawberries; add enough water to make 2 cups. Stir together sugar and cornstarch in saucepan; stir in mashed berries. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add gelatin, butter and lemon juice; stir until gelatin is dissolved. Strain mixture; discard seeds. Refrigerate until partially set.
Meanwhile, place chocolate chips and 3 tablespoons whipping cream in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at high 1 minute; stir. If necessary, microwave at high an additional 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, just until chips are melted when stirred. Spread chocolate mixture onto bottom of prepared crust; refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm.
Beat cream cheese and remaining 1 tablespoon whipping cream until smooth; spread over chocolate layer. Refrigerate filled crust while gelatin mixture is cooling. When gelatin mixture is partially set, fold in reserved sliced strawberries; spoon mixture over cream-cheese layer.
Cover; refrigerate several hours or until firm. Just before serving, garnish with sweetened whipped cream and whole strawberries, if desired.
Serves 8.
-- Source: Hershey's
SUMMER BERRY CHEESECAKE PIE
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups thawed whipped topping such as Cool Whip, divided
1 prepared graham-cracker pie crust
3/4 cup boiling water
1 package (4-serving size) strawberry-flavor Jell-O
1/2 cup ice cubes
1/2 cup blueberries
11/2 cups strawberries, hulled and halved
Beat cream cheese and sugar with wire whisk until well-blended. Gently stir in 1 cup of whipped topping; spread on bottom of crust.
Stir boiling water into dry gelatin mix at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Add ice cubes; stir until completely melted. Let stand 5 minutes or until gelatin is consistency of unbeaten egg whites. Meanwhile, arrange blueberries in single layer in center of pie; surround with strawberries. Cover with gelatin.
Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm. Cut into 8 slices. Top each slice with 2 tablespoons of the remaining whipped topping.
Serves 8.
-- Source: www.kraftfoods.com
COOL 'N' EASY STRAWBERRY PIE
2/3 cup boiling water
1 package (4-serving size) strawberry Jell-O
1 cup ice cubes
1/2 cup cold water
1 tub (8 ounces) whipped topping such as Cool Whip, thawed
1 cup chopped strawberries
1 ready-to-use graham-cracker-crumb crust
1 cup sliced strawberries, garnish
Stir boiling water into gelatin in bowl at least 2 minutes, until completely dissolved. Add ice to cold water. Add to gelatin; stir until slightly thickened. Remove any unmelted ice. Add whipped topping; stir with wire whisk until well-blended. Stir in chopped strawberries. Refrigerate 20 to 30 minutes or until mixture is thick and will mound. Spoon into crust.
Refrigerate 6 hours or overnight until firm. Top with sliced strawberries. Store leftover pie in refrigerator.
Serves 8.
-- Source: www.kraftfoods.com.