I just love fresh Louisiana strawberries during the summer. The only way I love them more is in my pie (which is great as a breakfast food, by the way). I made one the weekend of the 4th, and thought I’d share my recipe with you. Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter (1/2 cup), melted
1 ½ cup of graham cracker crumbs
½ pint of heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
½ cup of powdered sugar
½ cup of white, granulated sugar
1 package of clear, unflavored gelatin
2 pints of strawberries, hulled and sliced

Place a medium size bowl, empty, into the freezer. If you have a stainless steel bowl, this is preferable. This will help the whipping cream peak stiffer.

Combine the graham cracker crumbs and the butter and pat the crumbs into the bottom of a pie plate. Place the pie plate into the freezer.

Combine strawberries and sugar into a bowl, cover and refrigerate. (another option is to cut the strawberries the day before and refrigerate until use)

Remove the cold bowl from the freezer. Pour the whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract into the bowl and whisk mixture together. On a high speed, beat the whipping cream until stiff, about 5 minutes.

Remove the pie plate from the freezer and the strawberries from the refrigerator. Drain the strawberries of their extra juice. Combine the strawberries with the pack of gelatin and stir until it is absorbed and no longer visible. Pour the strawberry mixture into the pie plate. Cover the strawberry mixture with the fresh whipped cream. Refrigerate until use.

Serves 8