I love it when strawberries come into season. They’re such a delightful treat, and so easy to work with. While they are wonderful on their own, they’re absolutely heavenly in this chocolate drizzled strawberry pie.

The one problem with strawberries is how fast they go bad. You have to be ready to use them as soon as you buy them.

There are a couple ways to make strawberry pies. A lot of the recipes I see use gelatin to glaze the strawberries. I chose not to do that. This glaze for the strawberries is made from strawberries. It’s not as smooth as a gelatin glaze, but I like it better.

The one place where I got lazy was with the pie crust. I have a pie crust recipe I adore, and I’ll get around to sharing it one of these days, but it takes time to make a good crust. Sometimes I want to make a pie quickly. Store bought crust makes pies easier to make. My kids rarely eat the crust anyhow. I found these pie crusts on a really good deal, so I bought a few.

You have to bake your pie crust first for this recipe. Whether you’re using a store bought crust or making one of your own, start out with that. Follow the directions for prebaked pie crusts for your recipe.

Allow the crust to cool. Melt about 2 oz chocolate chips in the microwave, then paint the inside of the pie crust with the chocolate. The chocolate adds flavor and keep the crust from getting soggy if the glaze doesn’t firm up fast enough. If everything goes right, it won’t be a problem anyhow, but sometimes glazes are stubborn. Refrigerate the crust while making the rest of the strawberry pie.

Strawberries are a little tricky in recipes. How much strawberry is in a quart or a cup of them depends on how big they are. Sometimes they’ll be extra juicy or sweet.

Some of the quantities on the ingredients for this pie are flexible. If your strawberries are super sweet, for example, you won’t need as much sugar in the glaze as you might if they’re on the tart side. Lemon juice can be added if you like things a little more tart. You might also decide you want a few more strawberries in the pie than the recipe calls for. They’re strawberries. Have fun with them.

Wash your strawberries thoroughly. I like using a vinegar wash to kill any spores on the berries. My hope is that the pie will stay good longer this way, although it generally doesn’t last long enough for this to really matter. The vinegar wash takes 1 cup of vinegar to 8 cups of water. Stir them gently around in the vinegar wash and let them sit in there for a little. Drain and rinse. Allow the strawberries to dry before putting them in the pie.

You can slice the strawberries or not. Some people like to leave them whole. I quartered mine because they’re easier to eat that way. Whole is prettier, especially if you arrange them nicely in the crust. Hull your strawberries and slice if desired.

Put about three quarters of the strawberries in the crust, saving about a quarter of them for the glaze. I checked how full the crust would be of strawberries before putting any into the glaze. If you don’t have enough fresh strawberries for the glaze, defrosted frozen strawberries are adequate for the glaze. Ideally, keep it all fresh.

Puree the strawberries that are going into the glaze. This is much easier than mashing them, and will keep the glaze more consistent.

Pour the pureed strawberries into a saucepan and add sugar. Add lemon juice if you want a little added tartness. Bring to a boil over medium heat.

Combine cornstarch and water, and stir into strawberry and sugar mixture. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the glaze thickens, about 5-10 minutes. The longer you simmer it, the thicker the glaze will be. You can add a little red food coloring if you want a more intense color to the glaze.

Pour the glaze over the strawberries in the pie crust. Make sure to coat all of the strawberries.

Melt 1-2 oz chocolate chips in the microwave. Use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the pie.

Allow pie to cool in refrigerator until the glaze has set. This usually takes a few hours, but may depend on how much you thickened your glaze.

One thing I have to warn you – strawberry pies are very difficult to serve neatly. The strawberries like to spill everywhere. They still taste wonderful.

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Heavenly Chocolate Drizzled Strawberry Pie

Ingredients

• 1 cooked pie crust
• 3-4 oz chocolate chips, separated
• 1-2 qt fresh strawberries
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice optional
• 3 tbsp corn starch
• 1/2 cup water

Instructions

1. Melt about 2 oz chocolate chips in microwave. Spread on the inside of the pie crust and up the sides. Refrigerate to solidify the chocolate.

2. Add about 3/4 of the strawberries to the pie crust. Slice in halves, quarters, or leave whole as desired. Fill pie crust to desired level with strawberries.

3. Puree remaining strawberries.

4. Add pureed strawberries and sugar to a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir frequently.

5. Add cornstarch to water, mix, then add slowly to strawberry and sugar mixture. Reduce heat to low and simmer until glaze has thickened, about 5-10 minutes. Add a few drops of red food coloring if the glaze is too pale for your personal tastes.

6. Pour glaze over strawberries in pie crust, taking care to coat all of them.

7. Melt remaining chocolate chips in microwave. Use a spoon to drizzle the melted chocolate over the strawberry pie. Refrigerate until glaze sets, which may take a few hours.