Fruit Pie

Summer is here in full swing which means I find myself devouring fresh fruit like it's nobody's business. Usually watermelon is my summer fruit of choice but today was different. Today, strawberries won my heart.

Growing up, my mom made these mini desserts with sugar cookies, strawberries, and vanilla pudding. She used mini muffin or cupcake tins to create these bite-sized treats. Anyways, I have a one-track mind (thanks Mom!) so I naturally had to make something that resembled them. Enter fruit pie. I totally cheated and used pre-made ingredients, not very 'goddess' like of me I know! As a result, I have included 2 options for the crust and filling. It's up to you which one to use.

Strawberry Vanilla Cookie Pie

 Pre-made Ingredients:
- Pillsbury refridgerated sugar cookie dough
- Jello instant vanilla pudding (regular or sugar-free)
- 1 3/4 milk

'From Scratch' Ingredients:
Crust:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg
-1 1/4 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Filling:
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon butter

And, most importantly, strawberries for decoration

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If making own crust, cream butter and sugar. Add egg and mix. Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter mix and stir all ingredients together. Press into ungreased baking pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes. If you are using pre-made ingredients, slide dough into discs. Grease baking pan and arrange in pan. Press dough together so that it resembles pie crust. Bake for 16 minutes.
2. If making your own pudding, heat milk over medium heat in saucepan. Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in separate bowl. When bubbles form in milk, add sugar mixture a little at a time until it dissolves. Cook until it is thick but do not boil. Once thick, remove from heat and add vanilla and butter. Pour on crust. If using pre-made pudding, follow the directions on the box. If using instant jello vanilla pudding mix, add 1 3/4 cup of milk to mix and stir until dissolved. Pour on crust.
3. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
4. Cut strawberries and arrange as desired. (Note: you can glaze using 1/4 cup of apricot preserves and 1 tablespoon water. Melt and then brush fruit.)