Strawberry pie is one of our favorite summer desserts. Â It’s so fresh and easy that we find ourselves bringing it to BBQ’s and dinner parties over and over again! Â Yesterday we were making a meal for some friends that recently had a baby. Â I decided we’d try making “mini” strawberry pies just to spice it up a little bit. Â One thing about me and “mini”, we don’t mix well. Â For some reason every mini thing, aside from cupcakes, that I’ve tried to make has not turned out so well. Â I figured I’d try these, but I didn’t have huge expectations knowing my history! Â To my surprise they turned out! Â AND…. I got to use my adorable itty bitty pie tins, YEAH! Â We ALWAYS eat our strawberry pie with homemade whipping cream-much more than a dollop, but you could try yours plain, with ice cream, or even with whipped topping….. Â Little Shaeffer told me this morning his favorite part of strawberry pie is THE WHIP CREAM, so I guess that tells you how we feel about it in our house! Â Here’s the recipe we use…. If you and I are going to the same BBQ and we are both assigned “dessert” Â let’s call each other and make sure we make enough pie for everyone!
Pastry:
| 1 | cup  all-purpose flour |
| 1/2 | teaspoon salt |
| 1/3 | cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening |
| 2 | to 3 tablespoons cold water |
Filling:
- 1 1/2 quarts fresh strawberries cut in half (or smaller if making itty bitty’s)
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin (I often times use sugar free since you’re adding sugar any ways)
DIRECTIONS
In medium bowl, mix flour and salt. Cut in shortening,  until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary).  I use my food processor to make the dough and it works perfectly.  Gather pastry into a ball. Shape into flattened round on lightly floured surface. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the shortening to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.  Heat oven to 425°F. With floured rolling pin, roll pastry into round 2 inches larger than upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate.  If you are making mini pies use your pie tin as a “cookie cutter” and trace around the edge of the tin.  I then rolled my rounds out a little more so they were slightly bigger than the mini tins.  Fold pastry into fourths; place in pie plate. Unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side. Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1 inch from rim of pie plate. Fold and roll pastry under, even with plate; flute as desired. Prick bottom and side of pastry thoroughly with fork OR place a coffee filter inside the un-pricked crust and fill the filter with rice making sure to push it against the edges. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown. Cool on cooling rack.  I opt for the “rice” version so that my filling doesn’t leak through the pricked holes and make my crust mushy….
In a saucepan, mix together the sugar and corn starch; make sure to blend corn starch in completely. Add boiling water, and cook over medium heat until mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Add gelatin mix, and stir until smooth. Let mixture cool to room temperature. Place strawberries in baked pie shells; position berries with points facing up. Pour cooled gel mixture over strawberries.  Refrigerate until set. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.
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