I Tried Cindy Crawford’s “Favorite” Strawberry Pie, and It’s Officially the Only One I’ll Ever Make

When a celebrity comes forward with a recipe and they aren’t known for cooking, I tend to be a bit skeptical. Can it actually be good? Cindy Crawford is a renowned supermodel and entrepreneur, but is she also a good baker? She originally shared her recipe for a strawberry rhubarb pie, a particular favorite she likes to make at home, with Saveur magazine. After reading through the recipe, I have to admit that the pie does sound good and it sounds relatively easy to put together. So is this supermodel also a super baker? Here’s what I thought of her beloved strawberry pie.

Get the recipe: Cindy Crawford’s Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix together flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Measure the oil and milk together, then pour the wet ingredients over the dry ones. Mix together until the dough is crumbly and comes together easily with your hands.

Layer a piece of wax paper on the counter, then transfer half of the dough to the wax paper. Form the dough into a circle, then press another piece of wax paper on top of the dough. Flatten it out with a rolling pin, then peel off the top wax paper and use the bottom one to transfer the crust to the pie plate.

In another large mixing bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Add the sliced strawberries and rhubarb.

Fill the prepared pie crust, then scatter cold cubed butter on top. Prepare the second top crust, then place it on top of the pie. Pinch the edges, and add slices to the top to ventilate the pie. Brush the top with milk, sprinkle with sugar, then place the prepared pie on a baking sheet and bake for 50 minutes. If the edges are cooking too fast, cover them with foil to avoid the pie crust from burning.

Let the pie cool before slicing and serving.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this pie.

First, let’s talk about the crust. I’m typically horrible at making homemade pies because I have never successfully been able to form a pie crust before. So I was genuinely shocked by how easy it was for me to put this pie crust together. Instead of cutting in cold butter, this pie crust uses vegetable oil, yet it still comes out with that flaky texture that we look for in a pie. Plus, it was easy to form, which is also never the case for my pie crusts. I honestly think I’ll always make pie crust using this method moving forward.

Second, the filling was fresh and tasty. While a little loose compared to, say, a canned pie filling, I enjoyed that the pie tasted fresh and sweet, thanks to the fresh cut fruit. The mix of the strawberry with the rhubarb is particularly my favorite, and I can’t wait to try baking this pie with other fruit combinations as the summer progresses.

• Try different fruit combinations: While this strawberry pie is typically made with either strawberries or a combination of strawberries and rhubarb, this pie could work with any combination of fruit that you desire — as long as you use four to five cups of fresh fruit to fill the pie. Cindy also recommends blueberries and peaches for this pie, but be sure to add some lemon zest if you do so. I also think raspberries and blackberries could be tasty additions.
• Let the pie cool for several hours before slicing: My only note for this recipe is to let the pie cool completely. The recipe says to cool it for an hour before slicing, but to be safe I sliced it after two hours. This was still not the proper amount of time; the crust easily fell apart and the inside of the pie oozed out. While still incredibly tasty, it doesn’t make for aesthetically pleasing slices. So I recommend baking this pie in the morning, then letting it cool completely for the day before serving it at night.

Get the recipe: Cindy Crawford’s Strawberry Rhubarb Pie