WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: We used frozen berries for our Icebox Strawberry Pie (which worked well for cooking and cost less than fresh) and cooked them down in a dry saucepan until they released their juices and the mixture was thick, concentrated, and flavorful. Because strawberries are low in pectin, the natural thickener found in citrus fruits and many other plants, we added some lemon juice, which perked up the flavor and tightened the texture of the filling a little. To thicken the filling further, we added a bit of unflavored gelatin, which produced a clean-slicing, not-too-bouncy pie.

After stirring in the gelatin—which we combined with the lemon juice and water—along with sugar and salt, we then mixed in fresh strawberries off the heat. This gave us the big berry flavor we wanted.

Filling

• 2 pounds frozen strawberries
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup sugar
• Pinch salt
• 1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced thin
• 1 (9-inch) pie shell, baked and cooled (see below)

Whipped Topping

Filling

1. Cook frozen berries in large saucepan over medium-low heat until berries begin to release juice, about 3 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until thick and jamlike, about 25 minutes (mixture should measure 2 cups).
2. Combine lemon juice, water, and gelatin in small bowl. Let stand until gelatin is softened and mixture has thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir gelatin mixture, sugar, and salt into cooked berry mixture and return to simmer, about 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
3. Fold fresh berries into filling. Spread evenly in pie shell and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours. (Filled pie can be refrigerated for 24 hours.)
4. Serve pie with whipped cream topping.

Topping

• In step 1, it is imperative that the cooked strawberry mixture measures 2 cups; any more and the filling will be loose. If your fresh berries aren’t fully ripe, you may want to add extra sugar to taste in step 2. Use your favorite pie dough or use our recipe. Chill the heavy cream in step 4 to help it whip more quickly.