Description
Big guy strawberry pie is a funny name for a pie but this homemade pie gets its unique name from the BIG strawberry flavor it hosts. The fresh strawberries and berry jam both help to boost the flavor way up there! Easy enough for the beginner pie and homemade dough maker, you won’t find a better use for your summer strawberries than this pie right here!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the pie dough:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled
- 6 to 8 tbsp ice water
For the strawberry filling:
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- Heavy pinch of Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 quarts fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced (about 5 cups sliced berries)
- 1/4 cup strawberry jam or preserves
For the top of the pie:
- 1 large egg
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp coarse sugar
Instructions
- To make the dough: In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the flour, sugar, and salt with the machine on for 30 seconds. Plunk the butter pieces into the flour mixture and pulse a few times until the butter is the size of peas.
- With the processor running, drizzle the 6 tablespoons of the ice water through the feed tube and let the machine run until the dough forms a sandy mixture that holds together when you squeeze it – you’ll hear the sound change once this happens. If the dough has trouble coming together, add the remaining water and process until it comes together.
- Dump the dough out onto a work surface and knead it a bit to bring it together into a ball. Divide the dough into 2 pieces, one slightly larger than the other, and shape them into discs. Wrap the discs tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or freeze for 1 hour.
- To make the filling: In a large bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt together. Stir in the strawberries and jam; set aside.
- To assemble and bake: Preheat oven to 425° F. Place a 9-inch round pie dish on a large baking sheet.
- Place the large piece of dough on a lightly-floured work surface, leaving the second piece of dough in the fridge or freezer. Roll the dough into an 11-inch circle, adding more flour to the work surface as needed to keep the dough from sticking. Gently lay the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pie dish. Place the dish in the fridge while you roll the second piece of dough into a 10-inch circle to keep it cold. If desired, use a cookie cutter or piping tip to cut out shapes from this piece of dough.
- Remove the pie dish from the fridge and pour the strawberry filling over the bottom piece of dough. Lay the second piece of dough over the top of the filling and crimp or flute the bottom and top pieces of dough together at the edges, trimming the bottom dough as needed if there is too much in areas. Return the pie to the fridge and allow it to chill for 30 minutes.
- Whisk the egg yolk with the water in a small bowl. Place the pie dish on a large baking sheet and brush the top of the dough with the egg wash. Sprinkle the coarse sugar over the top of the pie.
- Bake in the center of the oven for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 350° F and bake for another 35 to 40 minutes, until the pie is golden brown. If it seems to be browning too quickly, loosely cover the pie with a piece of aluminum foil.
- Transfer the pie to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving. At room temperature, the pie filling will likely run when cut. If this matters to you – it doesn’t much matter to me – chill the pie for a few hours before serving.
Notes
In addition to cutting back on the cornstarch as I noted above, I also cut the sugar down a bit because with the addition of some strawberry jam, the pie was quite sweet. The pie is meant to be really big on the strawberries and while the jam adds another layer of strawberry flavor to the pie, it also adds a bit of extra sugar.
adapted from Sugar Butter Flour: The Waitress Pie Book (recipes from Jenna Hunterson)
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Chilling Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: pies | tarts
- Cuisine: American
So, I love every recipe of yours that I have made, but this one let me down a bit. I put in everything exactly as instructed and the pie was too liquidy to eat. Do you have any recommendations on how to make this with less of a soupy result? Thank you!
Hi Wendy! I’m sorry this wasn’t as you hoped it would be. Did you chill the pie before serving? I know mine was pretty soupy when it was still a little warm and even at room temperature before I chilled it. The filling definitely firmed up after some time in the fridge. If that still doesn’t help, you can up the cornstarch by a couple tablespoons. I cut down on this ingredient from the original in my recipe write-up because I thought it made the filling too gummy but that reduction shouldn’t have made the filling watery. It’s also possible that your strawberries were much more ripe than mine and let off extra juices. Sorry it took me a few days to get back to you, too! I have a lot of spam to filter through to get to the legit comments. Let me know what you think about my suggestions.