Strawberry Rhubarb Pie is a dessert that floats in on the breeze of spring. Sweet and tart with a flakey crust that begs to be eaten on a warm front porch. Since it's that rare time where strawberry AND rhubarb season overlap it seemed like a good time to pull out this strawberry rhubarb pie recipe.
There are about 2 weeks in the year that rhubarb season and strawberry season collide. Rhubarb is just on its way out (you're supposed to stop picking rhubarb in June so it can replenish its strength for next year) and strawberries are just on their way in.
Table of Contents
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Strawberry Rhubarb pie is the kind of old timey, classic dessert that I love for two reasons. One of them I've already told you. It's old timey. Floral apron, cooling on an open windowsill, old timey. The second reason is ... and I'll need you to sit down for this ... I don't very much like sweet things. Desserts actually. That explains why, if given the choice, I'll always go Lemon Tart over Chocolate Caramel. I'll also go Strawberry Rhubarb over sickeningly sweet Pecan Pie. Every. Single. Time.
How to Make Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Firstly you have to decide if you have what's known in the baking world as "pastry fingers". Pastry fingers can be found on the ends of the hands belonging to someone who has a feel for pastry. I do not. I have a feel for power tools. And french fries. And pizza dough. So I used a food processor to do my pastry dough. Works like a charm. Don't know if you have "pastry fingers"? Trust me. Kind of like blobs of back fat, if you had them, you'd know.
If you do not have pastry fingers, use a food processor to make your pie dough. It works great. Just don't overwork the dough in it.
Once your dough is made and chilling in the fridge, go out and pick some rhubarb. Because you're old timey. Don't have a rhubarb patch? I hear you can also buy it. So go do that instead.
4 or 5 stalks should do it.
Cut the rhubarb into 1 inch lengths.
Hull the strawberries, then half or quarter them depending on the size. You might notice in the background the jars and jars of homemade strawberry jam. I used the leftover strawberries to make the pie. It's smart to buy extras of something delicious like strawberries. It's not smart to buy extras of something not delicious like rancid meat. Or sour milk. Because you won't eat them on account of their grossness. Just a little helpful tip.
Combine all of the filling ingredients in a bowl and mix 'er up. (don't include the egg yolk and water ... that's just for glazing the pastry).
Once your ingredients are mixed, grab your most favourite pastry board. Mine is an old marble tabletop. Roll out your dough on your most favourite pastry board. I used to have a favourite pastry board. Now I have a pastry counter and a butcher block counter. You can see my *new* kitchen here.
TIP:
Pastry likes to be COLD so marble and other natural stones are the best materials for working on pastry.
Pasta dough likes to be WARM so wood is the best material for working pasta dough.
Line your pie plate with the dough and then pour in your filling.
Add the pastry top, pinch the dough together, brush with glaze. You may notice the curious look of the top of my pie. It's a disaster. Note to readers: Do not attempt to roll out/make pastry when it is 172° outside with a humidity level of 117%. It does funny things to pastry.
Bake for 20 minutes at 400°. Then, reduce heat to 350° and bake for another hour. Cover the crust with tinfoil if it starts to brown too much.
And there you have a delicious, delicious Strawberry Rhubarb pie. That you can't eat until tomorrow.
The filling needs that time to properly setup. But once it DOES ... it tastes like a super-healthy Pop Tart.
Now, if you haven't heard, there are apparently only 4 true pies in existence. This was according to my ex-boyfriend's father. He believed this to be true with such ferocity that I once saw him turn his face completely inside out when someone offered him a piece of questionable pie in a restaurant. It was lemon meringue. Not a true pie. I know. With all due respect to him, since he died a few years ago I'm still going to have to call him a Weirdo.
He would appreciate that.
I would like at this moment, to challenge that list.
Yeah. That's right. You heard me. I am, right now, without warning or approval, declaring Strawberry Rhubarb Pie to be a true pie.
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Ingredients
For crust
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons sea salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
- ½ cup shortening or lard
- ¾ cup ice water
For filling
- 3 ½ cups ½-inch-thick slices trimmed rhubarb 1 ½ pounds untrimmed
- 1 16- ounce container strawberries hulled, halved (about 3 ½ cups)
- ½ cup packed golden brown sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg yolk beaten to blend with 1 teaspoon water for glaze
Instructions
Make crust:
- Mix flour and salt together.
- Cut the butter into medium sized cubes.
- Cut the butter into the flour using two knives or a pastry blender.
- Stop blending when the mixture resembles coarse meal with pea sized lumps in it.
- Add ½ cup of the cold water to mixture and work in. Add the remaining water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough begins to form a ball.
- Divide the dough in half, form into discs and wrap each in plastic or put them in an airtight bowl to firm up in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour.
Make filling:
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Combine first 8 ingredients in large bowl. Toss gently to blend.
- Roll out 1 dough disk on floured work surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish.
- Trim excess dough, leaving ¾-inch overhang.
- Roll out second dough disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round.
- Transfer filling into crust. Place the second crust on top of the pie and crimp the edges.
- Cute vent holes in the top with a knife or pierce with a fork.
- Brush egg wash over the crust.
- Transfer the pie to a baking sheet (because this pie is going to bubble as it cooks and make a bit of a mess).
- Bake 20 minutes at 400°F. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F and bake another 1 hour until the pie is gold and the filling has thickened.
- Cool on a rack.
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Leslie
Granny Orma would be thrilled to know that her pastry recipe was shared. She was always happiest when cooking for, and feeding others! Pie looks great Karen and looking foward to the 'Pie Nazi's' reaction to your declaration of this as a true pie!
Stella
Perfect summer dessert! Looks amazing!
jenny
Thank You!! I responded awhile back to the declaration of the "Pie Nazi" about what he thought were True Pies. I am sooo glad you tried one and really you should put your next one -there Will be more- on a pedistal(cake stand)! Please tell me that he tried a piece and loved it. If not, have him over and serve him a piece a-la-mode, then take a picture of his smiling lips!!
kelliblue
omg, Karen, that pie looks scrump-dilly-icious! Breakfast, dessert, midnight snack, who cares, it's all good! Oh how I miss my grandfather's rhubarb...and my grandmother's pies...I can just taste 'em now...
Bobbie Schmidt
WOW! That is a TRUE PIE!!! Great pictures. My mouth is watering... not grossly drooling, mind, just delicately watering...
Love the idea of orange juice and zest in pie crust. Will mark that one down too. I use left over wine (red, of course LOL) in lieu of liquids for my brownies... Great stuff too.
Westcoast Nan
You have leftover wine? You are not doing it right then... JK!
Lauren
Sorry, everyone. The best ever rhubarb pie was one my mother-in-law made.It was a rhubarb custard pie with meringue.
Evalyn
Just to be clear: this receipe is for STRAWBERRY rhubarb pie. RHUBARB pie is different. And better, IMHO, which why I get all CAPSLOCK about it. Best receipe ever for RHUBARB pie is in the Fanny Farmer cookbook. Rhubarb jam is also wonderful.
Great pastry board, Karen. I'm on the lookout for one of my own.
Amy
Yummmmm. My favorite true pie. I love the idea of using orange juice as the liquid for the pie crust.
My mom uses tapioca to set rhubarb pie filling. I think the recipe she uses is from Joy of Cooking. I think, too, that you can use less of it than cornstarch.
But I like it for breakfast, too!
Tina
My grandmother always insisted that pie is the BEST sort of breakfast! As she’d point out, there’s toast in the form of crust. There’s fruit. There’s occasionally milk or cream by way of custard or whipped cream or ice cream. It’s the elite breakfast!
Liz S.
What in the world is rhubarb? I have never had it or seen it grown. I'm from Tennessee, so maybe we don't have the right climate for it.
Karen
Liz S. - Rhubarb is a plant that grows in clumps. You eat the stalk but not the leaf. The leaf is poisonous. It's an acquired taste. Tart. Like a Gooseberry sort of. It's usually stewed to sweeten it up a bit or has sugar added to it. ~ karen!
Pati
I want the "How-To" on the guns too !!!
Never had rhubarb...would like to tho but you NEVER see it down in Louisiana...or at least I never have..
Lisa
Rhubarb pie is the best pie ever. I make it all the time. And that pie dough recipe was from somewhere, because that's my grandma's recipe too. Also if you zest the orange before you juice it, you can add the orange zest to the rhubarb.
Marti
Lovely! (Nice guns, gf. Where's the "how-to" on those?) And now I want a cutting board with an antique-y border like that one.
cred
Beautiful photo of a true pie- I'm sure Orma would be proud and could perhaps dismiss your transgression.
Love how it looks on the rustic wood counter (or is it a table) with strawberries artfully hanging out nearby.
amy walters, aDESIGNdock
Love rhubarb pie. This looks amazing!!!
Alicia
So I need to know what is on his list of True pies lol ;)
Karen
Alicia - I did a whole post on the "true pies" a couple of weeks ago. I put a link to the post in today's post but somehow it got deleted! Sorry. Here it is ... https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/true-pies-an-exhaustive-list-from-the-cottage/ ~ karen
Jamieson
Crust is definitely my favourite part of a pie so I am curious about this orange juice business. Oh, and my favourite great-aunt's name was Orma (we shared the same birthday). I'll take that as a sign that I should make this pie (though likely not til winter).
Thanks Karen!
maureen
beautiful pics! to make your fruit pie less runny, add a little tapioca. (comes in a box, not cooked)
my fave rhubarb combo is raspberry rhubarb, b/c where i used to live, i had both in my garden. free food!
Karen
Maureen - The pie wasn't actually runny, it set up perfectly, it just took a while. That's what the quarter cup of cornstarch was for! LOL. That's alotta cornstarch in one little pie. ~ karen
Sheri
Hi Karen. The whole time I'm reading this post the thought "this is not a true pie" is running thru my head. Thx for mentioning it again like it when my memory doesn't fail me! To keep the peace have you thot of maybe coming up with a new name for when u serve these awesome pies to certain individuals. Something fancy french perhaps?? Btw pie looks awesome. One of my favs!!!
shauna
Yummy... Oj in the crust!?!? Brilliant!! But how do you decide on which rolling pin to use? Do you only ever use the same one? Are the others just decorative? Yes... This is a serious, not a smart a$$ question, lol. And I'm making this pie for family supper this weekend!!
Karen
Shauna - I usually end up using my Baribo over and over again 'cause it's at the front of the pile. I also use the marble one the odd time. Mainly for smacking people though. ~ karen
nancy (aka moneycoach)
yummm!! Rhubarb is one of the few items that grows in abundance way up here so I'm down with this recipe! Thanks for posting!