Here’s another great seasonal food we made this summer – a light and delicious fresh berry pie! If you’ve been following us for the past few weeks, you know that we showed you how to cook up some of the vegetables that are ripe in the summer: we made a green bean dish and also put summer corn to use in some esquites. Now we’re pivoting to something a little more sweet, using strawberries for a taste of the fruit that everyone craves in the summer. Miriam usually isn’t a fan of fruit pies, because she doesn’t like baked fruit, but here the strawberries are uncooked and sit on top of a nice creamy filling. And what’s even more interesting is the pretzels – they’re baked into the crust for an interesting taste to meld with the sweet fruit and filling. We based this on a recipe from the New York Times and we enjoyed how surprisingly easy this was, because unlike many other pies that take a long time to prepare and bake and then sculpt into intricate perfection, this one takes less than an hour from start to finish. And just look at how nice and delicious it is!
To make this, you’ll need:
- 1 3/4 sticks of butter
- Powdered sugar
- Mini hard pretzels
- Flour
- Baking soda
- 1 1/2 blocks (12 ounces) of cream cheese
- Heavy cream
- A pound of strawberries
For the crust, use a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment to beat all your butter (it should be 14 tablespoons in total) on a low speed along with 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, a cup of flour, and a teaspoon each of baking soda and salt. Measure out 3 cups of pretzels and grind them well in a food processor, then add this to the stand mixer and let it run on a medium-high speed until it comes together into an even dough. Grease a deep 9-inch pie dish and place the dough into it.
Press the dough into the pie dish in an even layer, so that it covers the bottom and comes all the way up the sides and over the top. If you want to make a fancy pinched crust, watch this video for tips and directions.
Bake your crust at 400°F for 10-15 minutes, until it’s golden to brown in spots. Leave it to cool completely, then you can make the filling.
Clean out your stand mixer and paddle and add in all your cream cheese. Run the mixer on high for a minute to get the cream cheese to start being fluffy, then add in 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar and beat on low until the sugar is incorporated into the cream cheese, then run the mixer on high for 2 minutes to whip up everything. Turn the mixer back down to low and gradually pour in 1 1/2 cups of cold heavy cream, making sure that the cream is fully combined in before adding more each time. Once you’ve added all the cream, use a spatula to scrape everything into the center of the bowl and then beat again on a high speed until you have a light and creamy filling. Scoop this into the pie crust and spread evenly.
Let this chill in your fridge for at least 2 hours. Then take your strawberries, cut off the tops, and slice into thin pieces. Mix these with 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and spread them on top of the pie. Now you can cut slices, and serve!
We liked all the different flavors in this pie: the creamy and sweet filling, the saltiness from the pretzel-infused crust, and the fresh (not cooked!) fruit on top. You might be hesitant about this because you’re not be a fan of mixing salty and sweet, but this pie works because the pretzels add a flavor that’s not overpowering, and the sweetness comes from both the cream cheese filling and the strawberries. It was also nice that the pie was pretty simple – we quickly made the crust and baked it, then whipped up the filling and cut some strawberries and it all came together. The only part that took some time was letting the pie chill before adding the strawberries, and that’s more a test of your patience than a need for effort on your part. So if you’re craving an easy pie as the warm weather wanes, we think this is the perfect treat to satisfy your sweet and salty tooth.