Strawberry Pie with Whipped Topping

This is always the first thing I make when truly seasonal strawberries hit the market stands - I won't buy strawberries any other time, and I wouldn't make this pie with anything but the most aromatic berries.

• Ready In: 47 mins
• Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 (10 inch)  pie crusts
• 2  tablespoons  sliced almonds
• 2 1⁄2 pints strawberries
• 1  cup sugar
• 4  tablespoons cornstarch
• 1⁄4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1  cup  well-chilled heavy cream
• 1  teaspoon icing sugar
• 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Roll out dough 1/8 inch thick on a lightly-floured surface; fit it into a 10 inch glass pie plate, crimping edge decoratively.
2. Chill for 30 minutes.
3. Prick pastry lightly with a fork, line with foil and weight with dry beans or pie weights.
4. Preheat oven to 375F and bake crust for 10 minutes, remove beans and foil, sprinkle bottom with almonds, and bake 10-12 minutes more, or until almonds are golden.
5. Let cool.
6. Hull and slice 1 pint of the strawberries and in a saucepan, combine them with ¼ cup water and sugar.
7. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved, and simmer 3 minutes.
8. In a small bowl, stir together cornstarch and ¾ cup water, add to cooked strawberries and bring to a boil.
9. Simmer, stirring, for 3-5 minutes, or until thickened, and stir in lemon juice.
10. Hull remaining 1 ½ pints strawberries, arrange in pie shell, and pour cooked strawberry mixture over.
11. Chill pie for 3-4 hours or until set.
12. In a chilled bowl, beat cream, vanilla extract and icing sugar until it holds soft peaks and serve with pie.