Every year when the weather finally turns soft and the first picnic tables get dragged out from the shed, my sister-in-law Clara shows up with this strawberry pie. It’s an old Amish-style trick: just fresh berries, sugar, a little cornstarch, and a ready pie crust. Ten minutes of hands-on work, and the oven does the rest. The filling bakes up thick and glossy, the edges of the crust turn just a little crisp, and it tastes exactly like the first warm day of spring on the farm. This is the kind of simple, practical dessert our Midwestern mothers and grandmothers leaned on when the strawberries came in all at once and there wasn’t time for anything fussy.
Serve this pie at room temperature so the glossy strawberry filling has time to set and slice cleanly. It’s lovely on its own at the end of a picnic-style meal with grilled chicken, potato salad, and baked beans. If you’d like to dress it up, add softly whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side, not on top, so you can still see that bright red filling. Coffee, iced tea, or a cold glass of milk all pair nicely with the sweet-tart berries and flaky crust.
4-Ingredient Amish Strawberry Pie
Servings: 8
Ingredients
1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust (homemade or store-bought, fitted in a ceramic pie plate)
6 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and halved (or quartered if large)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
Directions
Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Place the rack in the lower third of the oven so the bottom crust bakes up nicely. Set a foil-lined baking sheet on the rack to catch any drips.
Prepare the pie crust by fitting it into a 9-inch ceramic pie plate, smoothing it into the corners without stretching. Crimp or flute the edges as you like, then set the pie plate on the counter while you mix the filling.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar and cornstarch until no white lumps of cornstarch remain. This keeps the thickener from clumping in the oven.
Add the hulled and halved fresh strawberries to the bowl. Gently toss with a large spoon until every berry is coated with the sugar-cornstarch mixture and you see a light, syrupy coating beginning to form. This step takes only a minute or two.
Spoon the strawberry mixture into the prepared pie crust, spreading the berries out evenly and mounding them slightly in the center. Scrape every bit of the sugary cornstarch mixture from the bowl over the berries so the filling thickens properly.
Place the pie plate on the preheated baking sheet in the oven. Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (175°C) without opening the door.
