No Bake Strawberry Cream Chiffon Pie with Hazelnut Cookie Crust
Strawberry season is here in Oregon. I love this time of year and I decided to develop an easy recipe for a refreshing strawberry cream pie when we had a bumper crop of Hood strawberries a few years ago. My goal was to have it blasting with fresh strawberry flavor. Mission accomplished! It's too good to keep all to myself, so, I decided it was time to share it, and here it is:
Shopping List:
Vanilla Cream Sandwich Cookies - 1 pkg. - Choose Newman's Own or Trader Joe's Brand. Not Oreo.
Hazelnuts - 1/2 lb.
Butter - 1 stick
Strawberries - 2 pints
Cane Sugar - both granulated and powdered; organic is preferred, but make sure it is cane sugar.
Balsamic Vinegar - if you're not familiar with how well strawberries and balsamic vinegar go together, trust me, there's a reason they release the aged balsamic vinegars during strawberry season in Modena Italy.
Unflavored Gelatin - 1 envelope
Heavy Whipping Cream - 1 pint
For the Cookie Hazelnut Crust:
Toast 1 cup of hazelnuts on a baking sheet for 6 minutes at 400 degrees F. Allow to cool (sometimes you can find roasted hazelnuts and skip this step). Combine the cooled nuts with 20 vanilla cream sandwich cookies (Newman's Own are really good) in a food processor and pulse until ground together fairly fine. Add 1/4 cup melted butter (1/2 stick) and mix thoroughly. Press evenly into a 9" pie pan and set aside.
I like to place plastic wrap over the crumbs and use a small measuring cup to get it pressed down firmly - the more firmly you press it now, the better it will come out of the pan later.
For the Strawberry Filling:
The filling is a combination of pureed strawberry chiffon and larger chunks of strawberry throughout. Clean and hull 2 1/2 cups of strawberries (use any remaining strawberries for garnish at service). Cut 1 cup into desired size (these will be the chunks throughout) and combine them with 2 Tbsp granulated sugar in a small bowl. Set aside and allow to macerate for at least 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Next, put 1 1/2 cups strawberries along with 3 Tbsp granulated sugar and 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar in a blender and puree thoroughly. Set aside.
Put 1/4 cup water in a small sauce pan. Add the envelope of gelatin and mix well. Gently warm sauce pan just enough to thoroughly dissolve gelatin, stirring constantly.
Whip 1 cup of the cream to soft peak stage. Sift 2 Tbsp powdered sugar into it and mix thoroughly. Be sure not to over-whip, or it won't combine with the other components well.
Combine strawberry chunks (along with the juice they created with the sugar) with the strawberry puree and gelatin, mix thoroughly. Gently fold in whipped cream until well blended.
Add filling to cookie crust and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
When you are ready to serve the pie, whip remaining cream (1 cup) and sweeten with 2 more Tbsp powdered sugar. Serve each piece of pie with a dollop of whipped cream and fresh berries.
Enjoy!!!
Shopping List:
Vanilla Cream Sandwich Cookies - 1 pkg. - Choose Newman's Own or Trader Joe's Brand. Not Oreo.
Hazelnuts - 1/2 lb.
Butter - 1 stick
Strawberries - 2 pints
Cane Sugar - both granulated and powdered; organic is preferred, but make sure it is cane sugar.
Balsamic Vinegar - if you're not familiar with how well strawberries and balsamic vinegar go together, trust me, there's a reason they release the aged balsamic vinegars during strawberry season in Modena Italy.
Unflavored Gelatin - 1 envelope
Heavy Whipping Cream - 1 pint
For the Cookie Hazelnut Crust:
Toast 1 cup of hazelnuts on a baking sheet for 6 minutes at 400 degrees F. Allow to cool (sometimes you can find roasted hazelnuts and skip this step). Combine the cooled nuts with 20 vanilla cream sandwich cookies (Newman's Own are really good) in a food processor and pulse until ground together fairly fine. Add 1/4 cup melted butter (1/2 stick) and mix thoroughly. Press evenly into a 9" pie pan and set aside.
I like to place plastic wrap over the crumbs and use a small measuring cup to get it pressed down firmly - the more firmly you press it now, the better it will come out of the pan later.
For the Strawberry Filling:
The filling is a combination of pureed strawberry chiffon and larger chunks of strawberry throughout. Clean and hull 2 1/2 cups of strawberries (use any remaining strawberries for garnish at service). Cut 1 cup into desired size (these will be the chunks throughout) and combine them with 2 Tbsp granulated sugar in a small bowl. Set aside and allow to macerate for at least 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Next, put 1 1/2 cups strawberries along with 3 Tbsp granulated sugar and 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar in a blender and puree thoroughly. Set aside.
Put 1/4 cup water in a small sauce pan. Add the envelope of gelatin and mix well. Gently warm sauce pan just enough to thoroughly dissolve gelatin, stirring constantly.
Whip 1 cup of the cream to soft peak stage. Sift 2 Tbsp powdered sugar into it and mix thoroughly. Be sure not to over-whip, or it won't combine with the other components well.
Combine strawberry chunks (along with the juice they created with the sugar) with the strawberry puree and gelatin, mix thoroughly. Gently fold in whipped cream until well blended.
Add filling to cookie crust and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
When you are ready to serve the pie, whip remaining cream (1 cup) and sweeten with 2 more Tbsp powdered sugar. Serve each piece of pie with a dollop of whipped cream and fresh berries.
Enjoy!!!
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