Here’s the first of my strawberry crop. They’re supposed to be ever-bearing but I think they kind-of forgot the “ever” part! 

I love to eat fresh strawberries on pie dough. Here’s my dough recipe. It works like playdough. Very easy. I keep a batch in the refrigerator all the time in a Ziplock bag.

Pie Crust-Never-fail Variety

Grandma Sally lived in south-west Missouri on a farm. Down the road and a half mile south, lived Bernice (pronounced Burn-nis, with the emphasis on burn). She always made lovely pies. Her crust was flakey and light. I’ve never had a piecrust fail with Bernice’s recipe. The crust rolls out like soft play dough, but tastes like a little bit of heaven.

When I made a pie for my mother, she’d take a bite, close her eyes, and say “Mmmm. Short.” I guess that was my mom’s way of saying the crust was deliciously flakey.

Directions:

Set oven at 450.

Mix together:
5 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoon brown sugar
1 lb (2 generous cups-I use about another half cup) lard (I use solid Crisco—not butter flavored.)
Mix these ingredients together with a pastry mixer or two forks until blended.

Then mix together:
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 egg, slightly beaten
Water to make up to ¾ cup

Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture. Mix it until it sticks together. Don’t handle the dough too much. It will make the crust tough. Form the dough into 5 balls. Keep out how many balls you need. Put the others in a Ziploc bag in the refrigerator to use later. You can store the unused portion up to a month.

Wet the counter slightly with a sponge and lay a waxed paper down. Lightly dust the waxed paper with flour and put the smashed ball of dough on the paper. Put another waxed paper on top and roll out the crust. Peel off the top waxed paper. Place the cookie sheet upside down on the rolled out dough, grab a corner of the waxed paper and flip the cookie sheet with the dough. Now peel the waxed paper off the dough.  Bake at 450 degrees 10-12 minutes.

Let the crust cool; put some in a bowl and fill the bowl with fresh strawberries. Pour some cream over all and enjoy. YUM!