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I told my friends everything with the kids was totally fine, but I was definitely having a mental breakdown trying to wrap my head around all the perfect systems in Mardee’s house.
Or, “Look at Mardee’s pantry. She has BINS for every snack item, applesauces here, granola bars here! Amazing!” I have one bin for all the snacks in my cupboard. It’s full of loose Cheez-It’s and at least twelve half-eaten sleeves of Ritz crackers (because the kids never check to see if there is one already open). Oh, and probably some half eaten pretzels, with literal bite marks in them, because 4-year-old Edison often decides halfway through eating a snack that he’s done with it and just…puts it back.
I took pictures of the ice packs she uses in her kids lunch boxes. Why have I never considered this? My kids don’t want string cheese packed in their lunch anymore because they get floppy and warm by noon. Of course you buy an ice pack to solve this problem. Not me. We just stopped buying string cheese. Guys!!
I’ve never lived in someone else’s house before, pretending to be them. Mardee’s house is like a well oiled machine of perfectly functioning intimidation. She even has laminated chore charts, encouraging signs, and reminders everywhere for her kids.
Although, Mardee told me when she came back, “In transparency, I don’t think anyone has improved their body-sludge wiping since I made this–even though it is laminated.” Welp. Can’t win them all I guess 😅
Y’allllll it has been love at first taste. Strawberry and rhubarb play off each other in the most magical way, the sweetness of the berries and the sharp tartness of the rhubarb combine to make something perfectly balanced. And THEN we wrap it up in a flaky buttery pie crust.
Or do we top with it with a ridiculous amount of buttery crumble?? How to choose??
Let’s try both, shall we?
Double Crust Strawberry Rhubarb Pie (below): The main star of this pie is the fruit fruit fruit, complemented by copious amounts of the flakiest, butteriest pasty crust. It is simple, and I love that you can focus on the flavor of the rhubarb and strawberry. If you threatened me to the point of death, I might admit a small preference for a double crust pie!
But honestly guys, they are both so good. You will have to try them both and let me know which one you love the most! Are we ready? Let’s do this thing!
In the photo above you can kind of see how rhubarb is a little stubborn when you are chopping it. If you don’t have a very sharp knife, it won’t cut all the way through the ribbon-like outer edge of the rhubarb. Some people peel these off entirely, which is such a shame because it often is the prettiest most colorful part of the rhubarb. No matter how stringy and weird it looks, I promise once it’s cooked, it breaks down into the most delicious pie, so don’t worry about the strange texture right now. Use a sharp knife, cut all the way through, and peel off what you have to, but keep as much as you can!
The other thing you might notice from the photos above is the huge color difference of rhubarb from one stalk to the next! Sometimes you will get red and white rhubarb, sometimes it’s as green as celery with a reddish edge. I love my desserts to look RED because that’s the most appetizing color, so I always soak my chopped rhubarb in grenadine syrup for a couple hours before making my dessert:
This sweetens the rhubarb just a smidge, and turns even the greenest rhubarb a nicer shade of pink. You can absolutely skip this step if you like! Your pie will taste amazing without it!
Drain the rhubarb in a colander and return the drained rhubarb to the same now-empty large bowl. Add the other filling ingredients.
Mix it up. Stick it in the fridge if your pie crust isn’t ready yet!
Head over to my Homemade Pie Crust post for a bajillion details about how to make a homemade pie crust. It’s not as hard as you think, especially with egg in the dough like my crust has – it helps bind the dough together and makes it way easier to roll out and less likely to crack.
Double Crust Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Everything is the same up to this point no matter which topping you choose. But here are the details for a double crust. Don’t forget to dot with butter before putting on the top crust! Lattice crusts are not as hard as they look, head over to my Lattice Pie Crust post for all the details! Brush the top of the pie with milk, or with a combo of milk and egg. With my homemade crust, I always have a half egg leftover, but I don’t like how glossy a straight-up egg wash looks, so I do half milk, half egg. Sprinkle with sugar and she’s ready for the oven!
Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Pie
Let’s make our streusel topping! Normally, for a crumb topping (like for Dutch Apple Pie) I would use brown sugar and cinnamon, but not for this pie. Brown sugar has molasses in it, and cinnamon is such a strong spicy flavor. I do not want those deep dark flavors masking the brightness of my lemony fresh rhubarb. But that’s just me! Add in 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon if you want! (and/or 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg would also be good!) Add in some melted butter, not too hot. I’ve tried so many different ways of making streusel: cutting in cold butter, softened butter, etc. But melting, giving it a rough stir, and then chilling and breaking up the crumbles with my hands is my favorite method. You get the biggest most delicious crumbles! Put this mixture in the fridge or freezer for 30 minutes or so. It has to be cold when it goes in the oven, or it will just melt into the pie filling. Add some of the crumble topping to the top of your chilled pie, but NOT all of it. We are adding it in a couple layers to ensure a super crisp topping. About halfway through the bake time, pile on the rest, yes, all of it!! It’s so good you guys. Now I’m going to show you how to make something you need no matter which type of pie you are making. It’s a homemade pie shield! No pie goes out of my kitchen without using one of these handy shields. No more overcooked crust edges! Many pies have to be in the oven for a full hour (including today’s recipe) and the crust can get too brown a lot of the time. This foil shield protects your crust, keeping it tender and flaky. And then the center of your pie can still brown as necessary. I do this for both the crumble pie and for the double crust pie. And that’s it!! Which pie are you going to make first?? Call all the grocery stores, find yourself some rhubarb! You need this!
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The pie will be good in the freezer for up to 3 months. On baking day, take the pie out of the freezer, unwrap it and brush the milk and sprinkle the sugar on the top crust, then put it in a COLD oven. If you have glass or ceramic pie pans you run the risk of them cracking and breaking if they go straight into a hot oven due to thermal shock from extreme temperature changes. Once placed in the cold oven, go ahead and bring the temperature up to 425. Plan on about double the cook time for baking from frozen. If you won’t be baking the pie in the next few days and need the pie plate, you can line the pie plate with parchment paper or foil sprayed with non-stick spray before assembly. Flash freeze as described above, then lift the pie out of the pan with the paper/foil. Carefully pull the foil or paper off the crust of the pie. At this point you can use the wrapping, freezing, and baking instructions in the previous paragraphs. I haven’t tried this yet but it’s SUCH a good idea for times like Thanksgiving when you need all your pie dishes at once!
