When I was little my mother used to have a small vegetable garden in the backyard. Behind all the carrots, onions and parsley was my favorite spot – my sister and I would sneak in every day to see if the strawberries were ripe yet. It seemed to take forever for that biggest, most delicious looking strawberry to be done! Mom would always let us eat the first ripe ones, but when there were enough of these plump, red pieces of heaven, she would make this incredible strawberry pie.
My mother’s strawberry pie is still my favorite. She makes hers from scratch, with a pie crust recipe she’s been keeping a secret for years. It’s not really a secret – she just knows I’m not much of a baker so she would rather give me the finished pie instead of the recipe…
But occasionally I like to pretend I’m a pastry chef and I choose the easiest recipe I can find, to make sure it will turn out ok. This one from Rachel Weyerman over at Just A Pinch turned out delicious! The flavor resembled my mother’s strawberry so much that it almost could have fooled me!
You really don’t have to be an experienced baker to make this lovely dessert. Just bake a store bought pie shell according to package directions and you’re already half way through!
The secret ingredient of this recipe is definitely the ginger ale. That little bit of a kick goes perfectly with the sweet strawberries, and it takes the flavors to the next level. And if you want to double the deliciousness, you could add in a mixture of your favorite berries. I’ve tried this pie with a combination of strawberries and peach slices – it turned out amazing!