In the Kitchen: Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Last weekend at the farmer's market, I purchased a half-flat of local, organic strawberries hoping to share them on Easter Sunday with family. Well, turns out I wasn't the only one with that idea. My mom was prepared with a big bowl of strawberries waiting for our arrival and my sister-in-law made a gluten-free strawberry shortcake roulade for dessert, so my strawberries sat untouched. Well, my kids and I can eat our fill of strawberries, but as Friday approached, I still had a pint and a half of red, ripe strawberries begging to be eaten. I thought to make jam with them, but I had just bought a jar of 3 French Hens Starburst Strawberry Jam two weeks prior. Strawberry Rhubarb pie was suggested, and I remembered my grandmother making it for us, and how good it was.

 

I had the strawberries on hand, I picked up rhubarb at the grocery store, now I needed a recipe. I had never made strawberry-rhubarb pie before, so off the internet I went. I went with Smitten Kitchen's Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie recipe, following her advice and making the All-Butter Pie Dough from scratch, by hand. Both recipes were easy to follow, although it took an extra 10 minutes for my crust to brown (to which I fully blame my oven).

It smelled heavenly, but we were patient and let the pie cool for the filling to set. We then negated the set filling by warming the pie in a 350 F oven before serving. We topped each slice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, the perfect pairing. The crust was flaky and buttery, well worth the additional time spent making it from scratch as opposed to buying a frozen crust. The filling was the perfect balance of sweet and tart, just the way I like it. I brought it to our Friday family dinner and everyone enjoyed it thoroughly.

Of course, you can't make pie crust without making something equally delicious from the scraps of dough. I made these cinnamon-sugar "cookies" from the rolled-out leftover dough, to be enjoyed as a snack or with an afternoon cup of tea. They are great to make with your little helpers, and a great reward for helping.

They couldn't be simpler. Gather your scraps of pie dough and re-roll into one rectangle. Punch out your favorite shapes using cookie-cutters, then apply an egg-wash and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 350 F for about 20 minutes, until nice and brown and the tops look dry. Let cool before enjoying.

Baking was the perfect way to spend a chilly spring day. The oven kept the house warm and cozy, and my little one helped mix the dough and had a grand time being underfoot, snagging his fill of strawberries and washing dishes playing in the sink.

For more chilly day baking inspiration:

 

Nut and Raisin Bread

 

Perfect Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Spinach, Kale, and Garlic Pizza