Friday, May 25, 2012

Fresh Strawberry Pie! (Healthy Version)

I've been picking strawberries for over a week now and it's been really wonderful.  I wanted to make a fresh strawberry pie, and read several recipes, but they always seem to have less-than-healthy ingredients, so I came up with my own recipe.   Enjoy!

Fresh Strawberry Pie :)




  • For pie shell:
  • 1 1/4 cups unbleached flour or sprouted wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup butter (real butter, please)
  • 1/2 teaspoon unrefined sea salt
  • Cold milk
  • For the glaze:
  • 2 cups fresh, home canned, or frozen, pear, apple, or pineapple juice
  • 1/16 teaspoon stevia extract powder or 1/4 teaspoon powdered stevia leaf
  • 2 Tablespoons organic Sucanat
  • Small pinch of unrefined sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch 
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice (omit is using pineapple juice)
  • 4 cups fresh, whole organic strawberries, washed with caps removed and drained well 
  •  
  •  To make the pie shell:

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

    In a food processor, combine the flour, salt, and butter. Pulse until mixed well and crumbly.

    Add cold raw milk, a little at a time, while the processor is running. When the dough forms a ball, it is ready.

    On a well-floured surface, roll out the dough into a circle large enough to cover the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate, with a little extra hanging over the edge.

    Carefully transfer dough to pie plate.

    Flute the edges and then prick the bottom of the pie shell all over with a floured fork. This will prevent the dough from puffing up when you bake it.

    Bake the pie shell for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool while you prepare the rest of the pie.

    To make the glaze, combine the fruit juice, stevia, sucanat, salt, cinnamon, vanilla, lemon juice (except if you are using pineapple juice, omit this), and corn starch in a blender. Blend together well.

    Pour the liquid into a small saucepan, and, stirring constantly, bring to a boil.  Boil gently, continuing to stir, for 1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside.

    Wash the strawberries and remove the green caps. Drain well. Pour them into the pie shell.

    Pour the glaze evenly over the berries.

    Refrigerate the pie and chill thoroughly.

    If you wish, you can serve this with a little heavy cream, sweetened whipped cream or a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream. I am sharing this recipe at Simple Lives Thursday #97.
  • Also linked up at Whole Food Wednesdays! 
  • 6 comments:

    1. I've never made a pie completely from scratch. I might try this one, but that would mean I have to save some strawberries!

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    2. I love fresh strawberry pie. Lydia and I had some when she came to visit me last year. It was from a bakery that had just opened and they make everything from scratch. The lady that baked it had the pie shell lined with a cream cheese mixture of some kind to keep the crust from becoming soggy. I've always wanted to try to duplicate it but haven't done that yet.

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      Replies
      1. Oooo... that sounds so nice. I doubt it would be that hard to approximate. Hmmmm...

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    3. Looks fantastic - and healthy too!
      I found you via Whole Food Wednesday. I linked in a post about spicy mince lettuce cups. Have a great week.

      ReplyDelete