Food & Drink Writer Amy Strauss: During my childhood, summer was all about fresh berry pie, with the combination of strawberry and rhubarb being the most repeated recipe around my household. Below, I share with you a family recipe for just that, which includes a few personal touches of my own. The Strausses always had buttermilk on hand, so I decided to splash some into this pie crust. Also, I’ve been fond of crumb topped pies for years, and for this particular one, I’ve added an extra layer of texture with a handful of shredded coconut.
Enjoy my Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Pie! Eat the whole pie yourself. You deserve it!
Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Pie
Servings: makes 1 9-inch pie
Crust Ingredients:
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
- ¼ cup of chilled, solid vegetable shortening (recommended: Crisco)
- ¼ cup cold buttermilk
Crust Instructions:
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt.
- Add cold, cubed butter and vegetable shortening, working both into the flour mixture. Break butter and shortening down into pea size (or smaller).
- Pour in cold buttermilk and blend. Mixture will be moist, but not outwardly wet. If too dry (not forming into a ball), slowly add 1 to 2 tablespoons more of buttermilk.
- Dump dough onto a floured surface. Knead dough and flatten into a disc.
- Wrap disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for approximately an hour (3 hours max).
- Return dough to lightly floured work surface and roll into a circular shape, about 11–12 inches in diameter and ⅛ inch thick.
- Fit dough over 9-inch pie pan and style edges if desired.
Filling Ingredients:
- 1 pound rhubarb rib, ½-inch sliced (about 3 cups)
- 1 pound of large strawberries, hulled and quartered (halved if smaller berries)
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ⅛ teaspoon of salt
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice (optional)
Filling Instructions:
- In a medium bowl, combine rhubarb, strawberries, sugars, cornstarch, salt and lemon juice (if using).
- Toss well to evenly coat the rhubarb and strawberries, and until cornstarch has dissolved.
- Allow mixture to rest at room temperature for minimum of 10 minutes, as the fruit will be begin to make juices.
Topping Ingredients:
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats oats
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon of salt
- 6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter
- ¼ cup shredded coconut (optional)
Topping Instructions:
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, oats, sugars and salt.
- Add cubes of cold butter, working butter into the flour mixture.
- Add coconut if using and mix to combine.
Final Pie Instructions:
- Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a cookie sheet lined with parchment or aluminum foil and place on the bottom rack of oven (to catch any overflow).
- Dump fruit filling evenly into prepared pie crust. Generously scatter crumb topping over filling.
- Place pie in oven. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
- Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake an additional 40–45 minutes or until crumb top is browned and fruit is bubbling.
- Transfer pie to wire rack to cool. Let warm pie rest for an hour or up to 3 hours, allowing the filling to thicken.
- Serve warm, preferably with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream or dollop of crème fraîche. Enjoy!
