Light & Fruity Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 package (3oz.) Jell-O Gelatin of any flavor (house brands with identical instructions also work)
• 2/3 c. boiling water
• 2 c. ice cubes
• 3 1/2 c. (8oz) Cool Whip non dairy whipped topping, thawed (or equivalent house brand)
• 1 c. diced fruit (optional, I’ve never used it)
• 9-inch graham cracker crumb crust

Notes: Cool Whip will be in the frozen foods of most stores, place in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.
I do not recommend the use of pre-made pie shells for this recipe, or any variations
Boil water easily by microwaving it for one or two minutes in a microwave safe measuring cup.
Fruits recommended: fresh strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries. Canned or dried apricots, peaches, or crushed pineapple in syrup only. If the Jell-o box says it won’t work, do not use it (this includes fresh pineapple and most citrus)

Directions:

Completely dissolve gelatin in boiling water in a medium or large mixing bowl, stirring about 3 minutes. Add ice cubes and stir constantly until gelatin is thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove any unmelted ice. Using a wire whip, blend in whipped topping; then whip until smooth. Fold in fruit now if using fruit. Chill if necessary until mixture will mound. Spoon into pie crust. Chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Comments:

This is my favorite pie! It is incredibly easy to make, relatively fast and simple prep, and yields a pie that will impress anyone. I often make it with low-fat whipped topping and this seems to work fine, though you may have to chill it a bit more before filling the crust. Strawberry seems to be the favorite Jell-O flavor, though personally I prefer wild berry and raspberry.

It is VERY important that you follow the directions exactly though. If the gelatin isn’t thickening before you add the topping it will NOT gel correctly and you will have a runny or liquid pie. If your mixture is liquid after folding in the whipped topping, try chilling it (‘until mixture will mound’ means until you can get a spoonful of it and plop it on top and it will stay there, in a mound, as opposed to being too liquid and immediately melting down). If the filling is liquidy or very very wet in the crust before chilling it most likely will not set properly.

I’ve personally never added fruit to this pie as I like it fine without it, so I can not vouch for how well it would turn out.