Have you ever eaten strawberries dipped in chocolate? If so, you know how delicious they are, so delicious you can hardly stop eating them. The slightly tart flavor of the strawberries offsets the sweetness of the chocolate. Fresh Strawberry Pie with Chocolate Drizzle is based on this flavor combination. The recipe has been around for years and I have lightened it.

Pastry crust is high in fat so I used a chocolate crumb crust. I replaced the sugar with a Splenda-sugar blend. Instead of whipped cream I used "free" whipped topping. You must use really fresh strawberries for this pie, not bruised ones, so look them over carefully. Rinse the strawberries and dry them with a paper towel before you hull them. Chill the pie for two hours before slicing. Fresh Strawberry Pie with Chocolate Drizzle will be gone in the blink of an eye.

FRESH STRAWBERRY PIE WITH CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE

2 cups whole strawberries

1 cup mashed strawberries

1 chocolate Ready Crust, made with Hershey's chocolate

1 cup Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

4 tablespoons corn starch

1 8-ounce carton "free" whipped topping

Hershey's light chocolate syrup

Rinse, dry, and hull the strawberries. Arrange two cups of whole strawberries, pointed ends up, in the chocolate crust.

Combine 1 cup mashed strawberries, the Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking, water, lemon juice, and corn starch in a medium saucepan. Cook, stirring often, until glaze has thickened. Cool glaze for two minutes and pour over whole strawberries. Chill the pie until the glaze has set. Frost pie with whipped topping. Drizzle chocolate syrup in zig-zag lines over frosting. Makes 8 yummy servings.

Copyright 2006 by Harriet Hodgson

Harriet Hodgson

Harriet Hodgson has been a nonfiction writer for 27 years. She is a member of the Association of Healh Care Journalists and the Association for Death Education and Counseling. A prolific writer, she is the author of 25 published books and hundreds of print and electronic articles.

Hodgson has written about parenting, recycling, sexual harassment, aging, Alzheimer's disease, caregiving, communication, nutrition, physical activity, weight management, anticipatory grief, and many other topics.

She started out as a teacher and earned a B.S. with honors from Wheelock College in Boston, MA. She went on to earn an M.A. in Art Education from the University of Minnesota and did additional graduate work. After spending a dozen years in the classroom Hodgson changed careers and turned to writing.

All of her writing comes from life experience. Hodgson has talked about her experienes on some 150 radio talk shows, including CBS Radio, Minnesota Public Radio, WCCO Radio and "Coping With Caregiving," an Internet-only radio program broadcast worldwide. In addition, she has appeared on dozens of television programs/stations including CNN.

Hodgson is a Past President of the Wing of the Aerospace Medical Association. A past president of the Minnesota Medical Association Alliance (MMAA), she represented MMAA members on the Minnesota Medical Association Health Care Reform Task Force. She is an active community volunteer and all of her volunteer efforts focus on health.

Hodgson is cited in "Something About the Author," "Who's Who of American Women," "Who's Who in America," "Who's Who in the World," "The Dictionary of International Biography," and "Contemporary Authors," published by Gale Research.

Hodgson lives in Rochester, Minnesota with her husband, C. John Hodgson. She enjoys learning, travel, antiques, singing, and spending time with her twin grandchildren.