Coming back to life after a long weekend is hard. It’s Monday, only it’s not. It feels harder then a regular Monday. That’s how today felt. Especially when it’s raining. Rain should equal an automatic stay-home-in-bed pass for the world. It’s just better that way. This weekend was pretty great in our household. Brats, family dinners, our anniversary(holy crap we have been married for 7 years?! Oh, and holy crap I got my husband to eat Indian food and he liked it!!), swim lessons, long walks, farmers market, gardening. It was a perfect weekend. Which made the start of the work week so much harder! Do you ever feel like you need a vacation to recover from your vacation? That’s kind of how it went.

We celebrated my mothers birthday on Sunday with dinner at their house. I think she would have liked for me to just wrap up the baby in a bow and present her to her for the day. She sure is smitten with that kid. And the kid seems to feel pretty much the same about her. It makes going to work a little easier every day, knowing how attached she has become to my mother.Of course I brought dessert for our little dinner celebration. I scoured my favorite food blogs trying to find a recipe(not that hard people). I had eyed up this pie since it was posted and decided it was time. Plus it looked super simple. And it was. I made one huge mistake while making this recipe. I only made one pie. WHAT WAS I THINKING?! This pie was sooooooo good. I wanted another slice the second I ate the first and about 4 more later that night.

The only thing that would have made this pie better would have been fresh farmers market strawberries. But don’t worry, I plan on making it again the second they pop up.
Strawberry Truffle Pie

Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens via Bakers Royale

For the crust:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening
4 – 5tablespoons cold water

For the filling:

6 ounce package semisweet chocolate pieces (1 cup)
1 tablespoon butter
8 ounce package cream cheese, cubed and softened
2 tablespoons liqueur(I used framboise)
1/4 cup powdered sugar

For the topping:

1 pound fresh strawberries, stems removed and halved
1/4 cup strawberry jelly, melted
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Make crust: Mix flour, salt, shortening and water in a medium bowl until dough begins to hold together. On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to slightly flatten dough. Roll dough from center to edge into a 12-inch circle. Wrap pastry circle around rolling pin; unroll into a 9-inch pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate without stretching it. Trim pastry to 1/2 inch beyond edge of pie plate. Fold under extra pastry. Crimp edge as desired. Prick bottom and side of pastry with a fork. Line pastry with a double thickness of foil. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes more or until pastry is golden.

2. In a small saucepan combine chocolate and butter. Cook and stir frequently over medium-low heat until melted. Add cream cheese and liqueur. Cook and stir until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in the 1/4 cup powdered sugar.

3. Spread chocolate mixture in bottom of baked pastry shell. Chill until firm, approximately 2 hours. Whip cream in a mixer until stiff peaks form. Beat in vanilla extract. Spread over top of chocolate. Arrange strawberries over melted chocolate and brush with melted jam.