Fresh Baked Strawberry and Amaretto Pie
This pie is rich with juicy, fresh strawberries that bubble up in the oven into a glossy, thick filling. The amaretto and almond extract add warmth and a gentle nuttiness that makes each bite feel like something special. The crust is golden, flaky, and just sweet enough, with a crunchy sugar top that’s absolutely worth the extra step.
What I love about this recipe is that it doesn’t require perfection. Even if your lattice top is a little lopsided (been there), or your crimping turns into something more “abstract” (also been there), it’s still going to taste amazing. The filling is easy to pull together, the crust forgiving, and the whole thing feels like the kind of bake that gets remembered.
So go ahead and make a mess of your kitchen. Get flour on your elbows, snack on a few berries, and make this pie. Even if your crust is more “rustic” than “Pinterest-worthy,” you’ll still end up with a pie that tastes like you meant it.
Ingredients Needed to Bake Baked Strawberry and Amaretto Pie:
All-purpose flour
Vegetable shortening
Ice water
White vinegar
Salt
Butter
Granulated sugar
Fresh strawberries
Amaretto liqueur
Almond extract
Lemon juice
Vanilla extract
(To make it even easier, you can hit the “Get Ingredients” button inside the recipe, and these items will be added straight to your shopping cart at the grocery store of your choice.)
Ingredient Substitutions:
Vegetable shortening – Swap with cold, cubed unsalted butter for a richer tasting crust.
Amaretto liqueur – Replace with orange liqueur, a touch more almond extract, or leave it out entirely for a traditional strawberry pie.
Almond extract – Can be left out or swapped with a bit more vanilla extract for a more neutral flavor.
Lemon juice – Fresh is best, but bottled lemon juice works fine if that’s what you have on hand.
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Step-by-Step Instructions for Baking Baked Strawberry and Amaretto Pie:
Start by mixing up your crust. You’ll combine flour, salt, and shortening with your hands until you get that nice crumbly texture. Slowly add the ice water and vinegar mixture just until the dough comes together. Split it in two, roll it out, and line your pie pan with one half.
For the filling, stir together your chopped strawberries, sugar, flour, amaretto, extracts, and lemon juice. Let it sit a few minutes so the strawberries get juicy and everything mixes up smoothly.
Once your bottom crust is ready and your filling is mixed, pour the filling into the crust and smooth it out. You can either add a full top crust or go for a lattice. If you’re feeling fancy (or brave), the lattice adds a really pretty touch and isn’t as complicated as it looks.
After crimping the edges and venting the top (if needed), brush the top with butter and sprinkle it with sugar. Bake until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling. Let it cool before slicing so it has time to set.
FAQs about Making Homemade Pie Crust:
What’s the secret to flaky pie crust?
Keep your shortening or butter cold and don’t overwork the dough. Those little pockets of fat create layers of flakiness when they melt in the oven.Why add vinegar to the crust?
It helps keep the dough tender by preventing too much gluten from forming—plus it gives you a little more flexibility while rolling it out.How do I know when the crust is done baking?
It should be golden brown all over and the filling should be visibly bubbling in the center.
Tips for a More Decorative Pie Top:
A lattice crust is always a crowd-pleaser and surprisingly forgiving. If you want to take it a step further, use small cookie cutters to create shapes from leftover dough and lay them across the top. A fork or spoon can add simple decorative texture to the edges.
How to Prevent Your Pie from Bubbling Over in the Oven:
Place your pie on a baking sheet lined with parchment just in case. If your filling is piled high, you can also leave a little extra room at the top, or make sure you vent well. That bubbling filling has to go somewhere!
How to Store Your Baked Pie:
Let it cool completely, then cover loosely with foil or plastic wrap. It’ll keep at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the fridge for up to 5. You can also freeze it—just wrap it tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat in the oven for best texture.
Recipe for Baked Strawberry and Amaretto Pie:
Baked Strawberry and Amaretto Pie
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a small measuring cup, mix your iced water and vinegar.
- In a large mixing bowl, place flour and salt. Mix until combined.
- Add shortening, and using your hands, cut shortening into the flour. (Use your fingers to rub through the flour and shortening, combining it until it becomes a sandy-textured mixture with small pea-sized lumps of shortening throughout. You do not want to over-mix, and want to make sure there are still some lumps of shortening to make the crust flaky and tender).
- Once the flour and shortening are combined, begin adding water mixed with vinegar 1-2 Tablespoons at a time. You DO NOT want to add all of the water at once. You only want to add as much water as it takes to get the dough to begin forming into a ball that will hold together when rolled out. I would recommend using your hands to mix in the water so you can feel the texture of the dough as you go, making sure not to over-saturate it. (The dough should feel slightly less pliable than play-dough)
- Divide your dough into two equal balls. Take the first ball of dough, and roll it out to 1/4 inch thickness on a well-floured surface. Fold the dough in half, pick it up, and gently place it in the bottom of your pie pan, making sure not to rip the dough. (If there are holes or rips in your dough, do your best to patch them before adding your filling)
- Once the bottom crust has been placed in the pan, take your second ball of dough and repeat the rolling process. Once it has been rolled, you can either fold it in half and set it aside, or you can cut it into 7 equal-width strips for a lattice top, and set them aside. Proceed to make your filling.
- Into a large mixing bowl, add strawberries, sugar, flour, amaretto liqueur, almond extract, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. Stir well until combined. Make sure there are no lumps of flour visible.
- Allow the mixture to sit for 5-10 minutes to allow the strawberries to macerate before stirring one more time to fully combine.
- Pre-Heat your oven to 375 degrees F. Grab your pie pan with the bottom pie crust in it.
- Place your filling into the bottom crust of your pie. Smooth out the filling so it is an even height all across the surface of the pie.
- If you are NOT doing a lattice top, take the second half of your rolled-out dough (the top pie crust) and place it over the filling, making sure to cover the entire surface of the filling, and skip ahead to step 13. If you are doing a lattice top, see the next step.
- For a lattice top, take 4 strips of your top crust, and space them evenly across the surface of your pie in 4 parallel lines. Fold back every other strip.
- Lay the fifth strip of dough perpendicular to the parallel lines you folded back, intersecting them. Unfold the folded strips over the top of the perpendicular strip.
- Fold back the parallel strips that you had previously left unfolded. (They should fold backward over the perpendicular strip)
- Lay another perpendicular strip over the parallel strips, and once again unfold the parallel strips that had been folded back. Repeat this process with the last strip of dough.
- Once the top of the pie has been placed or latticed, using a sharp knife, trim the excess pie dough that is hanging over the edge of the pie pan, leaving 2 inches of excess.
- Once trimmed, tuck the excess dough under itself, forming a ridge around the edge of the pie pan.
- Using your fingers to pinch or a fork to crimp, flute the edges of your pie dough, sealing the top and bottom crust together with the filling in the center. Skip to step 16.
- If you have a solid pie crust top (not latticed), tuck the excess dough that is hanging over the edges under itself, forming a ridge around the edge of the pie pan.
- Using your fingers to pinch or a fork to crimp, flute the edges of your pie dough, sealing the top and bottom crust together with the filling in the center.
- Using a sharp knife, cut 5-10 small slits in the top of the pie crust to allow it to vent. (You do not have to do this if you made a lattice top)
- Brush the top pie crust with melted butter until it is thinly coated, and sprinkle lightly with sugar.
- Place in your pre-heated oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the crust is perfectly golden, and the filling is bubbling throughout.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes to 1 hour to allow the filling to set. Slice, serve, and enjoy!