Spring Picnic Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Recipe

Strawberries are available in the supermarket year-round, but you're really only likely to start seeing fresh rhubarb in spring. Recipe developer Jessica Morone feels strawberry rhubarb pie is "the perfect spring dessert" for this reason, explaining "strawberries and rhubarb are in season right now" so if you live in an area where both are grown, you may be able to find them at a farmer's market or roadside stand. She does admit, though, that you could use frozen rhubarb. That way, she says, "You could actually make this recipe any time of year to get the flavors of spring."

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As to what makes this pie particularly picnic-friendly, it's because it's made with a top crust rather than a lattice. This way, the filling is more likely to stay contained rather than spilling all over your picnic basket. Speaking of crusts, this pie uses a scratch-made one rather than calling for a refrigerated crust — here are a few tips to avoid ruining the pie crust. Morone does say, though, "I'm all for people using shortcuts if they want to save time and energy," so if you want to use a store-bought crust, feel free.

For the pie crust, if you go the scratch route, you will need flour, salt, butter, and cold water. The filling is made from strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, cornstarch, salt, and vanilla.

Mix the flour with the salt, then chop 1 cup of the butter into small pieces and cut those into the flour until you have a crumbly mixture that Morone describes as looking like "coarse sand." Blend the cold water into the flour mixture until it starts to resemble dough. While you can certainly make pie crust by hand the old-fashioned way, Morone says, "I find it so much easier to just throw everything in the food processor and do it that way."

Roll the dough into a ball, then divide the ball into two halves and flatten each half into a disc. Cover each piece in plastic wrap, then stick the dough in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Set the oven to 425 F so it can heat up while you assemble the pie. Take one of the dough discs and roll it out into a 12-inch circle, then fit it into a pie pan. You may need to trim off any excess dough. Now mix the berries, rhubarb, sugar, salt, and vanilla, then put this mixture into the pie shell. Cut up the rest of the butter and scatter it over the pie filling.

Roll out the remaining pie dough, then put it on top of the pie. Crimp down the edges to form a seal between the bottom and top crusts.

Check to see if the oven is hot enough yet. If it is, that's great, but there's just one more step before you put the pie in: Take a knife and cut 4 to 5 slits in the center to allow the steam to escape as the pie bakes.

Bake the pie for 20 minutes, then turn the heat down to 375 F and bake it for another 35 to 40 minutes. Once the crust looks golden and any filling you can see through the slits appears to be bubbling, take the pie out of the oven. It will need to cool completely before you can slice it and eat it, much less take it on a picnic. Leftover pie should be refrigerated and eaten within 4 days, although you can always freeze it for longer storage.