News Taffy

When we were at a Farmers’ Market recently, my husband and I stocked up on strawberries; in my family, when you have a ton of delicious, ripe strawberries, you make a strawberry and cream pie. In fact, my husband, Eric, actually loves the pie so much that when one of my coworkers said that they’d love to try a slice, he half-jokingly said that he didn’t want to share. Looks like I’ll be making another one for the Occasions office this week.

I absolutely love my mom’s strawberry and cream pie. It is a longtime favorite of my entire family, and my brothers even occasionally request it as their “birthday cake.” Last summer, my mom made one and brought it to Table Rock Lake for the Holaday family’s huge Fourth of July celebration. When my Aunt Kim saw the pie, she was practically speechless; it turns out that my mom had originally gotten the recipe from my Aunt Kim, but many years ago, my Aunt Kim misplaced her recipe. She asked around for years to see if anyone still had it, but she couldn’t find anyone who did, so she thought the strawberry and cream pie recipe was gone forever…until my mom showed up with one. Aunt Kim got her recipe back, and we got strawberry and cream pie. It was a good Fourth of July.

As I have said before, I’m pretty new at cooking on my own, so if I can make this pie, so can you. Good luck and enjoy!

Strawberry and Cream Pie

INGREDIENTS
*1 Pillsbury pie crust
*8 oz. soft cream cheese
*1/3 cup sugar
*1/2 tsp. almond extract
*1 cup whipping cream
*1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
*1 T shortening
*4 cups of fresh strawberries

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Unroll pie crust and place in pie dish as directed. Prick crust with a fork on the bottom and sides, then bake for 9-11 minutes. Let cool, then set aside.
2. In a small bowl, beat whipping cream until foamy. Set aside.
3. In large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy, then gradually add sugar and almond extract. Blend well.
4. Fold whipped whipping cream into the cream cheese mixture, then spoon into the cooled crust.
5. Wash strawberries, then cut the tops off. Arrange strawberries point-side-up on top of the cream cheese mixture.
6. Melt chocolate chips and shortening on the stovetop. Stir constantly until smooth, then drizzle over the top of the pie.
7. Chill until the pie is set. When you go to eat the pie, use a very sharp knife to cut slices of it so that you don't smash the strawberries into the filling. 

-Audrey Hanes