As I was driving over the grade this morning into the flat farmlands the wonderful smell of strawberries being harvested wafted into my car. I love fresh strawberries, so I am very lucky to be able to get them fresh directly from the farm. This recipe marries two of my favorite things, shortbread cookies and strawberries. Add a little whipped cream and enjoy!
Crust
1 (5-oz) package Lorna Doone or other shortbread cookies
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Pie
2 Ib strawberries, hulled
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
- Preheat oven to 350°F and place the rack in middle.
- Add the cookies to a food processor and pulse into fine crumbs. Add the sugar and butter and pulse until combined. Press the crumb mixture evenly onto bottom and sides a 9-inch pie plate and bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Place on a rack and cool.
- Select 15-20 large strawberries as close to same size as possible and set aside. Cut the remaining berries into 1/4 -1/2 pieces and toss with sugar and lemon juice. Let stand, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes until the berries are in a good amount of juice. Pour the berries into a sieve over a large glass measuring cup. Once the liquid has drained off, put the berries in a large metal bowl and set aside.
- To the berry liquid, add enough water to measure 2 cups of liquid. Transfer the liquid to a medium saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin over the liquid and let soften for 1 minute. Bring the liquid to a simmer, stirring until the gelatin has dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the diced berries to the liquid and then transfer the mixture back to the metal bowl and set it into an ice bath, stirring frequently until mixture begins to mound, 20 to 30 minutes.
- Put 1/2 cup filling into piecrust and arrange the whole berries with the stem ends down in the filling. Spoon remaining filling in and around the whole berries to fill the pie shell. Chill the pie until the filling is set, at least 4 hours.
Share this:
