This is a sponsored post, all thoughts and opinions are my own
A little while back, I was on T.V. As someone who had never done T.V. before, I was a nervous wreck. I was visualizing failing miserably in my mind as the entire cast and crew of the local morning news laughed their asses off at my epic failure. Such is the life of a food blogger with no background in T.V. So like any type A personality person does, I prepared like crazy in hopes of not screwing up.
I was approached to do the spot to celebrate National Dessert Month, I really didn’t know anything about it but I did and still do love dessert even if I’m not the best baker. I was tasked with having to come up with a dessert of my own to demo or discuss with the local news anchor. The first thing that came to my mind was pie. Why? Because if you’re not a good baker, pie is one of the easiest things you can make. Let me preface that by saying, if you’re not making your pie crust it’s one of the easiest things you can make. I’ve long been a proponent of not making my own pie crust primarily because A) it’s time consuming and B) the store bought kind tastes better than anything I could make. I know that goes against my “brand” but I’m being honest with you.
One of the desserts that came to mind for me was this Strawberry Crumble Pie. But you’re saying, “it’s Fall that’s no time for strawberry pie don’t you have a calendar?!” Well it could be any season but if you give me the option of strawberry crumble pie or boring pumpkin pie, I’m choosing strawberry crumble pie every damn time. Why? Because have you tasted pumpkin pie? You’ve realized you made a bad choice by the time the first bite has made it past your throat and into your stomach. Meanwhile, a strawberry anything pie is a flavorful explosion of deliciousness in your mouth that only ceases when you’ve either eaten the whole pie or realized that you can’t eat a whole pie because that’s not a thing sane people do.
Since I’m no baker, I adapted this recipe from Emeril Lagasse because I believe in the power of BAM! And because he actually has great recipes for things.
This pie is ridiculously easy to make. Why? Well if you go with a pre-made crust you already did like 5 steps and you can use frozen strawberries if you want too. So you literally are just making a crumble and then assembling ingredients.
Frozen fruits are shocked at their peak freshness so a lot of the times they have for vitamins and minerals than the fresh stuff. Plus, if you use frozen strawberries (like I did), you can always have the possibility of strawberry pie sitting in your freezer at a moments notice. Now let me give you one piece of advice, make sure you thaw your frozen strawberries and discard the strawberry juice (or keep it and use it for something else just not your pie). Strawberries have a tendency to spill out of the pie so I would put something underneath your pie pan when this cooks. Because it’s going to spill out.
A note on the crumble. It’s awesome. That’s all.
Strawberry Crumble Pie
Ingredients
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse
Filling:
6 cups (2 pounds) hulled, quartered strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest
Crumble Topping
3/4 cup rolled oatmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
Method
Make the crust: Open the pie crust dish. Unwrap the plastic. Allow to thaw.
Make your crumble, combine your oatmeal, flour, and sugar. Then add melted butter to the mixture and stir it thoroughly. Refrigerate until it’s chilled for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Make the filling: Toss the strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch and orange zest in a mixing bowl. If there is lots of extra liquid you can pour it in a separate bowl.
Spoon the strawberry filling into the crust and spread the crumb topping evenly over the berries. Bake in the middle of the oven for 1 hour, or until the filling is bubbly and the crust and topping are golden brown. Make sure you put a baking sheet underneath the pie pan as the goo from the strawberry filling tends to spill over.
Transfer to a rack to cool to room temperature before serving.
Ingredients
Method
- Make the crust: Open the pie crust dish. Unwrap the plastic. Allow to thaw.
- Make your crumble, combine your oatmeal, flour, and sugar. Then add melted butter to the mixture and stir it thoroughly. Refrigerate until it's chilled for about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Make the filling: Toss the strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch and orange zest in a mixing bowl. If there is lots of extra liquid you can pour it in a separate bowl.
- Spoon the strawberry filling into the crust and spread the crumb topping evenly over the berries. Bake in the middle of the oven for 1 hour, or until the filling is bubbly and the crust and topping are golden brown. Make sure you put a baking sheet underneath the pie pan as the goo from the strawberry filling tends to spill over.
- Transfer to a rack to cool to room temperature before serving.
