Light and Fruity Strawberry Pie

After my Freshman year of college, I worked in a small town in Idaho where my grandparents lived and I stayed with them for the summer.  I have so many wonderful memories of that summer that I will always cherish.  One of those memories, as silly as it may sound, is this Light and Fruity Strawberry Pie.  I made this pie almost every week.  Whether we were playing scrabble, just visiting or cheering on our basketball team in the playoffs, this pie was almost always around.  We all loved it!  Every time I make this pie it brings back such great memories.

This pie is so easy to make and only takes a few ingredients. It's perfect for spring and summer. It would also be great to make for Mother's day!




To make this pie you will need; 1 small box of sugar-free strawberry gelatin, 2 cups of ice cubes, 16 oz light cool whip, fresh strawberries, and one 9 or 10 inch graham cracker crust.  I like to make my own graham cracker crust in a deep 9 inch pie pan, but if you want to save time you can definitely just buy one. You could also substitute raspberry gelatin and fresh raspberries instead, if you want.

Boil 2/3 cup of water and add to a mixing bowl with the gelatin.  Mix until gelatin dissolves. Add 2 cups of ice cubes to the gelatin.  (for me that was about 1 standard ice cube tray)  Mix until the gelatin starts to solidify and then discard any remaining ice cubes.

Fold in the whipped cream.

Wash and cut the stems off of the strawberries.  Gently crush the berries.  (I like to use my potato masher for this step)


Add the berries to the filling and gently mix.  Spoon the filling into the crust.  You can garish it with additional berries if you like.

Refrigerate for at least 3 hours and serve.

Light and Fruity Strawberry Pie
Recipe slightly adapted from The Magic of Jell-O Cookbook 

Ingredients:
1 graham cracker crust, premade or make your own (I like to use a 9 in pie pan)

2/3 cup boiling water

1 pkg. (4 serving size) strawberry sugar free gelatin

2 cups Ice cubes
16 oz. light cool whip, thawed

1 cup fresh strawberries 

Directions:

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add ice cubes and stir until the gelatin starts to thicken, about 3-5 minutes. Remove any ice that's left. Add the cool whip to the gelatin and whisk until smooth. Crush berries and fold into the cool whip mixture. Spoon mixture into crust. Garnish with additional berries if desired. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.  

Note:You can make a raspberry pie instead by substituting raspberry gelatin and fresh raspberries.

Makes 8 servings.