Frozen Strawberry Fluff with Gluten Free Option

As a kid, I loved going over to my best friend's house for dinner. This was fantastic for 2 reasons.

1. Best friends always have awesome Barbies to play with that you don't have.

2. Eating at someone else's house is like, WHOA, a crazy special treat when you're an 8 year old.

After eating someone else's food for dinner (which is way better than eating your own food for some reason), I would cross my fingers and hope that my friend's mom would go downstairs to the freezer and (please, please, please!) pull out a frozen dish filled with Strawberry Fluff. 

It was one of her specialties and I remember enjoying it many summer evenings. Those were the best nights--running around outside, making dirt soup, bungee jumping our Barbies off the swing set (what? you didn't do this??), staying up late, and then enjoying a cool, refreshing slice of frozen Strawberry Fluff. 

This dish will always bring up memories of those warm summer nights. Something about it makes me feel like a kid again. It's a perfectly light, almost guilt free, and can easily be made gluten free. Simply whip up some egg whites and strawberries until they form puffy, billowy pink clouds. Add some sugar and vanilla, pour over an easy peasy graham cracker crust, and freeze. You'll have a perfect dessert waiting for you in the freezer whenever you need it. 

I did adult-ify this recipe a bit by adding a healthy drizzle of chocolate syrup, a few extra slices of strawberries, and a generous dollop of whipped cream. It really doesn't need the additions, but wow, they take this dish from great to fabulous! (And darned pretty too!)

If you're worried about using raw eggs in this recipe, you can purchase pasteurized eggs at the grocery store. I usually don't worry about it since we get our eggs fresh from a farm, but if I'm serving this to a group of others, especially kids, I usually buy the pasteurized eggs just to be sure. 

For easier slicing, simply lay the dish in about an inch of hot water for a minute or two after you get it out of the freezer. The crust should slip out pretty easily. 

Call up your best friend and invite her over for dessert. It'll be one of the best nights of the summer, I promise.

P.S. The countdown to strawberry season is upon us. Prepare yourself.

Frozen Strawberry Fluff

Recipe by bakeeatrepeat.blogspot.com

Yield: 2 9 in deep dish pies

**For gluten free version, substitute graham crackers with 2 1/2 cups gluten free graham cracker crumbs-Kinnikinnick is the brand I usually use.  

Ingredients:

For the fluff:

2 egg whites

16 oz. frozen strawberries, thawed slightly

3/4 cup sugar (you can also add one very ripe banana and reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup)

8 oz. Cool Whip

1 teaspoon vanilla

For the crust:

 1 Tablespoon butter

8 Tablespoons butter, melted

3 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 18 whole graham crackers)
1 Tablespoon water or more, if needed

Sliced strawberries, chocolate syrup, and fresh whipped cream (optional)

Directions:

1. In a small bowl combine melted butter and crushed graham crackers. Stir until the crumbs start to adhere together. If needed, add water by the Tablespoon until the crumbs stick together. Use the Tablespoon of butter to grease 2 9 in deep dish pie pans or 1 9x13 inch pan. Use your fingers to press graham cracker mixture into the pan. 

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat sugar, egg whites, and strawberries (and bananas if you're going that route) for 15 minutes or until puffed and fluffy. Stir in cool whip and vanilla.

3. Divide strawberry mixture evenly between the 2 pans. Wrap tightly in saran wrap, then foil and freeze for 24 hours. Keeps in the freezer for 3 months. To serve, place frozen pan in an inch of extra hot water for about 5 minutes then slice. Top with fresh berries, whipped topping, and chocolate syrup, if desired.