A Tale of two strawberry pies

Grandma’s Recipe Box Series.  For more about grandma’s recipes read my post here.

(Disclosure: I work for the J.M. Smucker Company, which owned Crisco, but sold the brand in 2019.  They don’t pay me to talk about it, I just believe it makes a superior crust from personal experience.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

My grandmother made a great strawberry pie, and I’ll share her recipe with you.  Her recipe includes strawberry Jell-O in the homemade glaze, and I know some people don’t like to “cheat”, so I also included a recipe for a completely homemade glaze if you want to skip the artificial flavors and colors.

Gram’s Recipe (pic is her handwritten recipe I got when she passed away this year)

• 1 1/2 Cups sugar
• 2 Cups water
• 4 Tablespoons corn starch
• 1 Quart of fresh strawberries
• One box strawberry Jell-O
• 1 Prepared pie crust (I make my own using the Crisco® recipe, very easy) Then pre-bake it.  If you haven’t done this before, instructions can be found here. (note – I was told the pie crust link was broken and updated on 6/26/21 so it works again)

Directions:

1. Wash and cut the strawberries into pieces.  I cut small berries in half, medium berries into quarters, and large berries into 6 or more pieces.  Drain off any liquid and put the berries aside.
2. Put the water (hold back about half cup) and sugar in a saucepan and heat on med-high heat.
3. Mix the cornstarch with the remaining half cup of water and whisk together until it is dissolved.  Add this mixture to the sauce pan and stir slowly until it begins to thicken and look clear, about 5 minutes.  It won’t be completely transparent, but it won’t look milky any more.
4. Slowly stir in strawberry Jell-O.  Once dissolved remove from heat and let it cool for about 10 minutes.
5. Add the strawberries to the still warm glaze and gently stir to cover all berries with glaze.
6. Spoon the berries into the pie shell and add as much of the remaining glaze as you like.
7. Refrigerate for a couple of hours and enjoy with some whipped cream.

Alternate No Jell-O Recipe Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cups sugar
• 1 Cups water
• 2 Tablespoons corn starch
• 1 1/2 Quarts fresh strawberries
• 1 Prepared pie crust (I make my own using the Crisco® recipe, very easy) Then pre-bake it.  If you haven’t done this before, instructions can be found here.

Directions:

1. Wash and cut the strawberries into pieces.  I cut small berries in half, medium berries into quarters, and large berries into 6 or more pieces.  Drain off any liquid and put the berries aside.
2. Divide out about 1/3 of cut strawberries and put them in a medium sauce pan with the sugar.  Put on medium heat and mash the berries with a potato masher or large fork.  They should be good and mushy, but a few larger chunks won’t hurt anything.
3. Mix the cornstarch with the water and whisk together until it is dissolved.  Add this mixture to the sauce pan and stir slowly until it begins to thicken and no longer looks milky, about 5 minutes.  Reduce heat to low and let this simmer for 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from heat and let it cool for about 10 minutes.
5. Add the strawberries to the still warm glaze and gently stir to cover all berries with glaze.
6. Spoon the berries into the pie shell and add as much of the remaining glaze as you like.
7. Refrigerate for a couple of hours and enjoy with some whipped cream.

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