4th of July Strawberry Pie

Loved this recipe!  Found it on Pinterest! :)

For the pie crust:

2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup veg. oil
3 T cold water

Mix flour and salt. Add oil, mix with fork until well blended, like fine crumbs. Sprinkle with water and mix with fork. Gather dough and press into 2 balls--one with 2/3 of the dough, the other with 1/3 of the dough. Set aside smaller ball. Roll large dough ball between two pieces of waxed paper (wet counter underneath to prevent slipping of paper). Peel off top paper. Place pie dish on top of crust and flip it over so crust is now inside the dish. Peel off remaining waxed paper. Trim or flute crust as you like. Prick crust with fork to allow air. Bake at 450 deg. for 12-15 minutes.

On a floured surface, roll out small dough ball. Cut out stars with cookie cutter. Place stars on cookie sheet and sprinkle them lightly with sugar. Bake at 450 deg. for 10-12 minutes.

For the pie filling:

1 cup sugar
2 T cornstarch
1 quart fresh strawberries, coarsely sliced
1 T butter
1 small package strawberry gelatin (don't be afraid of the jello, it just helps the pie set up!)
1 T lemon juice

Mix sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Mash 1 cup of the berries and add water to make 2 cups. Stir into sugar mixture. Cook and stir until boiling. Boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add butter, jello, and lemon juice. Stir to dissolve jello. Chill mixture until partly set. Spoon a third of mixture into baked pie shell. Top with remaining sliced berries. Cover with remaining mixture. Place baked stars on top. Chill.

I also added about a 1/2 cup of blueberries on top, as garnish with the baked stars to make it even more festive!

Delicious!

-From Place to Bloom Blog -