Strawberry Mile High Pie

Need a quick and easy summertime recipe for your next knit night gathering? Behold the easy, frosty, tasty Strawberry Mile High Pie! And it's pretty, too.

This strawberry pie was my favorite growing up - my mom made it for my birthday every May! It uses the tried-and-true 80s fave Cool Whip (nostalgia) and frozen berries, so you don't have to wait for berries to be in season to whip this up (although some fresh ones on top make a delicious finale).

The recipe includes my mom's very light, flaky, delicious homemade crust, but no pressure; this is equally tasty in a store-bought graham cracker or pie crust, or just poured into parfait glasses and frozen, then eaten like ice cream sundaes. Yum!

Crust (optional):

11/3 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup vegetable (or other neutral baking) oil

3 tablespoons cold milk

Combine flour and salt; add oil and milk and stir with fork. Roll crust between 2 pieces of wax paper. Put in pie pan and pierce all around sides and bottom with fork. Pinch edges at sides. Bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes, or until just barely starting to brown. Set aside and let cool completely before adding filling.

Filling:

2 egg whites

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)

1 cup whipped topping

1 10 oz package frozen strawberries (thawed to a mushy consistency) 

Instructions:

Add egg whites, salt, sugar, lemon juice (if desired) to strawberries. Beat on high with hand or stand mixer for 15 minutes or until mixture doubles in size and fills large mixing bowl. 

Gently fold in whipped topping with spatula; don't turn over cream too much or overbeat (which will make the pie heavy and flat). 

Turn out into crust, or parfait glasses, and gently smooth but don't pack. Filling should "dome" up over the top of pie crust and pan. Freeze 5-6 hours, or overnight. Remove from freezer immediately before serving.