Easter Egg Strawberry Pie

This is a re-post of a re-post but with Easter coming up, I wanted to share this again.

This is a strawberry pie I’ve been making for at least 20 years. You know there’s a story behind anything I’ve been doing for that long. This recipe was in a magazine I had – maybe a Women’s Day . . I cannot remember. I kept the magazine for years but somehow, in my divorce and subsequent moves, I lost the magazine and the recipe. I searched the internet and could not find the recipe. For several years at Easter, I would tell Vince . . I wish I could make my strawberry pie recipe! Honestly, I could have made any strawberry pie, put Cool Whip on top, added the toasted coconut nests and peanut M&Ms and everything would have been fine but . . I didn’t do that. I moaned and complained about not having my old recipe.

One day Vince and I were at a garage sale when we lived in Kentucky. The lady had a box of old magazines. Vince was off looking at something else and I said “I’m going to stay here and look through these magazines”. I was always hoping I would come across that issue and I knew exactly what the cover looked like. And . . there it was! For 25¢, I had my beloved recipe back again!

I have made it every Easter for so many years. It makes two pies so unless you have a bunch of company, there’s one for you and one to share!

This recipe makes 2 pies.

You’ll need:

Darn it! I forgot to stick the pastel peanut M&M’s in the picture. Here’s the list:

2 packs of Graham crackers (inside the box, there are 3 packs . . use 2 of those)
2/3 c. butter, softened
2 T. sugar
1-1/2 C. boiling water
1 – 6 oz. package strawberry Jello
1 pint strawberry ice cream, softened
1 – 6 oz. container strawberry yogurt
3 cups Cool Whip
1 – 12 – 16 oz. container of fresh strawberries, cut into small pieces
1 c. toasted coconut
A few pastel M&M’s with peanuts

To toast the coconut, spread it out in a baking dish and bake at 375 for about 10 minutes, stirring often and watching it closely.

To make the crust, place the graham crackers in a food processor or blender or crush them in a Ziplock bag with a rolling pin. Mix in 2 T. sugar and the butter. Spread into 2 pie pans and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For the pie filling:

Pour the boiling water into a mixing bowl and stir in the jello.

Add the softened ice cream and yogurt and stir til blended completely.

Place in the fridge for 30 minutes. Stir several times during that time.

Try not to eat the strawberries while chopping them.

Stir the strawberries and 1 cup of Cool Whip into the pie filling.

Pour into the 2 pie pans. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Top with Cool Whip.

Build coconut nests and place the pastel colored “eggs” (M&M’s really!) in the nests. Refrigerate at least two hours. Store in fridge (if there are any leftovers!)