Strawberry Sour Cream Pie & the 4th of July

Let freedom ring!

This past weekend, I traveled home with 2 pups in tow, with my hubby by my side, to see my family and check in on the beautiful Mama Suz, as she has been recovering at home for a full week since her surgery. 

We had a fantastic, restful weekend, and she gets better and stronger by the day. 
It never ceases to amaze me how 36 hours in a great house surrounded by trees and packed to the brim with memories can stir and calm the soul simultaneously, in the most positive way.  I always leave feeling renewed.    

I was browsing food blogs Saturday morning, and I my eyes instantly fell in LOVE with a recipe for an enticing, lush strawberry pie.  I do not bake often, as I have said before, and so I was a bit hesitant but yearned to create this pie.  It just looked poised and ready to mirror a summer night filled with fireflies and fireworks.  And, it looked simple (always a plus).    

I read through the recipe, and it seemed like the perfect celebratory kitchen creation to whip up for the 4^th of July.  So, here we go. 

The ingredients are simple.  The process is enjoyable.  The result is BLISSFUL. 

Strawberry Sour Cream Pie

Source:  www.worththewhisk.com

The Ingredients:

1 qt. strawberries

 1 cup flour

1 cup sour cream

1 ¼ cups white sugar, plus a tablespoon

Dash of salt

1 egg, whisked in a small bowl

Refrigerated pie crust (or your own pie crust creation!)

The Process:

My sister and I made this recipe on Saturday, and it was a blast.   We bookmarked the recipe in our minds, and we also preserved the memory of creating a deliciously simple kitchen creation together, in our hearts forever.  I hope there will be many, many more sister kitchen creations to come.

We actually doubled the recipe listed above to make 2 pies, minus the amount of strawberries.  Two summer pies are always better than one!  While we were prepping our ingredients, we thought that the strawberries could be split between 2 pies, and so we actually made more of the flour-sugar-sour cream mixture but just split the strawberries into 2 pies.  If you follow the recipe above for one pie only, it will be delicious and packed with strawberries! If you want to double it, just simply split the strawberries into 2 bowls and double the rest of the ingredients before separating into 2 mixtures.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  Take your refrigerated pie dough (or the dough you made yourself – more power to you!) and gently press into your pie pan.  I also added a bit of non-stick cooking spray to the pan first. 

Wash and hull your strawberries, slice in halves, and set aside in a bowl.  In another bowl, sift your flour, sugar, and salt.  Add sour cream and blend until just creamy and everything is incorporated together. 

Next, gently fold in the berries with a spatula.  Do not over mix; you do not want your mixture to turn carnation pink.  You want your mixture to stay white with the pops of berries coming through. 

Now, for the best part – pour the berry, flour, sugar, sour cream mixture into your pie crust.  Do not pack the mixture down; instead, softly pat with a spatula until it fills most of the crust.  There should be some natural air pockets.  Sprinkle the reserved tablespoon of sugar on top.  Brush the crust only with the 'egg wash' (your whisked egg).  The egg wash helps to create a golden brown color. 

It looks like a baker’s dream at this point in the process.  I wish I had captured it on camera.  Trust me, I snuck a few bites of the batter because I couldn't resist, and it's sooooo good, even before it's heated. 

Place the pie in the pre-heated oven and bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees, and bake for another 30 minutes or so.   We then turned the oven to broil and browned the tops of the pies, too, for about 1 minute or so.

It is tangy and bright and full of summer lovin' flavor.   

It was enjoyed it at room temperature as well as ice-cold from the refrigerator, for dessert, and also for breakfast. 

Hazelnut coffee and a piece of strawberry sour-cream pie as the sun rises?

A refreshing dessert after a savory summer cook-out?

 Count me in, time and time again.