Strawberry Chiffon Pie

As usual this time of year, I am up to my eyeballs in delicious Copper County Strawberries.   I prefer  to get my berries from Crane Berry Farm in Chassell.  They are the best.    Jane is up visiting, and she requested a strawberry pie.  I had recently checked out Kate Lebo's Pie School cookbook from the library and came upon her recipe for strawberry chiffon pie that she said was inspired by the strawberry chiffon pie recipe in Farm Journal's Complete Pie Cookbook, which is one I don't have in my arsenal of Farm Journal cookbooks.   I need to write a blog post about my FJ collection.   This pie came out fantastic!  I decided to try a new tip I read about using instant pudding to stabilize whip cream, and it really works  I just looked at the piece of pie I still have left that I made days ago and the cream is still perky!

I took this pie to our friends Steve and Lisa's beautiful place in Eagle River for the 4th of July, and it was a hit.  We got some rain later in the day on the 4th up north, but I understand it was a big storm in Houghton/Hancock.   From the looks of the water on our deck here just north of McLain, it was pretty heavy here as well.  

Vanilla Cookie Crumb Crust

2 c. crushed vanilla wafer crumbs
pinch of salt
6 T. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 F. Pulse cookies in food processor until fine - it was almost a whole box of mini Nilla wafers. In a medium bowl, melt 6 T. butter in the microwave.   Add crumbs and and salt and mix with a fork to combine.  Press into a 9 inch pie plate.   Bake for 10 minutes until it is slightly fragrant.   Allow to cool before filling 

Filling

2 cups (1 pint) fresh strawberries, trimmed and quartered
3⁄4 cup sugar, divided
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1⁄4 cup cold water
1⁄2 cup hot water
4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 cup chilled heavy cream
2 egg whites

In a medium bowl, crush the strawberries with your hands or a fork.  Mix the berries with 1⁄2 cup of the sugar and let them sit for 30 minutes.  Pour the gelatin into a small bowl, pour the cold water over it, and stir to soften it.  Then stir it into the hot water until dissolved. Add the gelatin to the crushed berries, along with the lemon juice and salt. Refrigerate the mixture. Briefly stir the mixture every 5 minutes while chilling to catch it at just the right setting stage—the mixture will lump softly when you drop it from the spoon back into the bowl.  This takes about a half hour.

Beat the chilled cream on high until it forms stiff  peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the strawberry mixture.  Whip the egg whites with an electric beater on high until they hold soft peaks, then gradually add the remaining 1⁄4 cup sugar as you beat the whites into stiff , glossy peaks. Fold the meringue into the strawberry mixture.

Pour the filling into the crust and smooth it into a mound with a spatula or spoon. Chill until completely set, about 2 to 3 hours. 

Stabilized Whipped Cream

1/2 T. instant vanilla pudding mix

1 t. powdered sugar

1/2 c. heavy cream 

A pinch of kosher salt

¼ tsp. vanilla extract

Whip cream with sugar and pudding mix until it forms stiff peaks.  Stir in salt and vanilla.  

To garnish the pie, I used a Wilton  2D tip and then used some sliced strawberries. 

Serve chilled. Store leftovers covered in the fridge.  I like to use my vintage tupperware pie carrier, mine looks like this:

If you want to buy one, this seller on etsy has it.  It's a great way to bring pie with you to a potluck!  I need to make more pies.  I think this is the first one I have made this whole year.