Chocolate Strawberry Pie Squares | Holiday Recipes: Desserts for Non-Bakers

Happy Sunday! It’s the week. The week where the holiday season officially kicks off with the first holiday...Thanksgiving! I celebrated Friendsgiving with my group of girlfriends from college this weekend and let’s just say I don’t want to eat for five days. Hopefully I’ll have deflated by the time Thursday comes around. We’re not doing any entertaining for Thanksgiving, our job is 100% Christmas. However, I can understand the need for quick and easy recipes this week. Lucky for you, we have our second Easy Dessert for Non-Bakers and coincidentally, it’s another that uses the amazing store-bought pie dough. These whip up pretty easy, although a little messy, and they’re super addictive. I wasn’t sure how this recipe would turn out while it was still an idea but man was it a hit. Everyone in my house was dying to get their hands on them. I almost didn’t have any for pictures!

One of my best friends who’s hosting the Thanksgiving dinner I’ll be attending this week sent me photos this morning of the 25 individual pies she’s making completely from scratch as favors for her guests. Her pies are always crazy good and my mouth is watering thinking about how I’ll be able to dig in to one of those this weekend. Even though she’s taking the time to put together this incredibly thoughtful gift, I don’t feel guilty sharing a holiday recipe that uses store-bought dough. It’s important to remember this season not to draw comparisons. We all have our strengths. Baking is not mine and I will more than likely never send my guests home with favors so intricate. Social media can cause us to compare ourselves to others but we need to remember that it oftentimes shows the best of the best and it doesn’t show the million burnt casseroles that happened before the picture perfect one. Don’t allow yourself to feel underachieved or lacking because you see a photo on your Instagram feed that looks like it’s out of a magazine. The experience that you offer is more than enough and amazing because you put thought, love and most likely a little blood, sweat and tears into everything. While Instagram photos are always nice, let’s remember that the season is about more than the perfect table setting. It’s about spending time with the people we care about.

So...back to the recipe. I wanted to share something decadent but easy. I had an extra box of store-bought pie dough in the fridge and was craving something fruity but also chocolatey. Whenever I think of holiday recipes, or recipes for any kind of entertaining, I like to try and keep them simpler and easy to eat if it’s not a formal sit-down dinner. These pie squares are small and bite-sized for easy eating. You might get a few flakes on your shirt but it’s totally worth it. Three classic ingredients come together for a beautiful and delightful dessert option. I think Nutella or any hazelnut spread would be tasty but if you have nut allergies to consider like we do, a nut-free chocolate spread works just as well. Quick trick: spread the chocolate on the pie squares while they’re still warm. This allows the chocolate to melt a little so it spreads easier. The less pressure you put on the pie squares, the better.

Chocolate Strawberry Pie Squares
Ingredients:
1 package store-bought Pie Dough (or one recipe of your favorite)
4 cups Strawberries, sliced
1 cup Nutella or Nut-Free Chocolate Spread

Directions:
1 - Unroll the dough and pierce with a fork. Use a pastry cutter, pizza cutter or small knife to cut the pie dough into 9 squares for larger pastries or 16 squares for bite-sized pastries. Pre-bake the pie dough at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

2 - Let the dough cool just enough so you can handle it. You want it still warm to melt the chocolate for easy spreading. Spread about a tablespoon of nutella or chocolate spread on the larger squares, a teaspoon if you’re going with bite sized. Arrange slices of strawberries on top of the chocolate.