Birthday Goodies!

Chocolate cupcakes for the party with friends...



Glazed Strawberry Pie for actual birthday dinner with family...
(It was too hard to put 10 candles into a pie without a top crust, so we compromised on one giant candle to wish on.)



Prepare one baked pie shell and allow time to cool.

Wash and hull six cups fresh strawberries.

Using the smallest berries, crush enough to make one cup strawberry puree.

Cover and refrigerate the remaining berries.

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, combine 1 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons cornstarch.

Stir in 1/2 cup water, then the strawberry puree.

Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously, until the mixture thickens and the gel is clear.

Remove from the heat and stir in 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice and 2 tablespoons butter until the butter is completely melted. Let cool to room temperature.

When the the crust and the glaze are cooled, cut the pointy ends off the reserved strawberries and set aside. Thinly slice the rest of the reserved strawberries and fold into the glaze. Spoon the glaze into the pie shell. Arrange the strawberry points in a decorative pattern on top of the glaze, pressing the cut sides into the glaze as far as you can without the glaze running over the sides of the crust.

Refrigerate pie until serving time. At the last minute, top with sweetened whipped cream.

Thanks to Marilyn Moore's Wooden Spoon Dessert Book. The birthday boy went on and on and on about how good it was.