Strawberry Cheesecake Pie

When it comes to tasty desserts, to me, Cheesecake tops them all. I absolutely love cheesecake in all of its forms. They are just so good.

This recipe, in particular, is a recipe from my childhood. My mother got the original recipe from an old church cookbook. She no longer has that cookbook. I searched them all for this recipe. We have made this recipe so many times we kind of know it like the back of our hands.

I make this pretty much the same way nearly every time I make it… except for fresh strawberries on occasion. It is so easy and delicious and you will LOVE this dessert.

Let’s get started…

INGREDIENTS:

2 pkg pie dough ( the long ones that are more rectangle in shape)
2 pkg cream cheese – room temp
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste ( regular vanilla extract will do just fine)
1 egg – room temp
pinch of salt (1/4 tsp fine or 1/2 tsp kosher)
1 can strawberry pie filling ( or you can use cherry, blueberry, peach, or mixed berry)
1/2 stick butter – melted
1 cup fresh strawberries – optional

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a bowl combine the cream cheese and sugar. Blend with a handheld blender until creamy. Add the egg, salt, and vanilla and blend again until smooth. Set aside.
2. In a 1/4 sheet pan spray with oil spray and line with parchment. Press the pie dough out to form the pan making sure to come up the sides of the pan about 3/4 of the way up. Prick with a fork to prevent bubbling. Prebake at 375* for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly.
3. Add the cream cheese mixture to the dough and spread out evenly.
4. Press the fresh strawberries into the mixture if you are using fresh berries. Dollop the strawberry pie filling on top making sure to evenly distribute the pie filling over the cream cheese mixture.
5. Top with the other pie dough crust making sure to gently press the edges together on the side of the dough as best as you can. It will not be perfect so don’t stress too much over it.
6. Cut a few slits in the top to prevent the top from bubbling up and the center from bursting out of the top.
7. Bake for about 25 to 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the center is cooked through.
8. Remove and let cool until set or you can cool to room temp and chill overnight.
9. Dust the top with powdered sugar. Slice and serve.

• You can sub the strawberries for any other flavor of cheesecake that you like such as blueberry, cherry, peach, or mixed berry.
• I oftentimes can not find the sheet-style pie crusts so you can use the sheet-style crescent dough or crescent roll dough instead. it works just as well. If you use the crescent roll dough, make sure you pinch the edges together as best as you can. Do not prebake the crescent dough. The time may vary if you use this style of dough and it may take a few minutes longer to bake.
• You can make this on a pie plate if you can not find the sheet-style pie dough. Just use the regular pie dough and make it on a pie plate. The cooking time will vary and it may make 2 pies. Just keep that in mind when making it this way. I usually just opt for the 1/4 sheet tray.
• Keep in mind that the center will not set until you let it cool and it will still be a slightly creamy texture not typical of a regular cheesecake. It is more like a thicker custard-style texture. It is so good.
• If you want to leave out the pie filling and just do a plain cheesecake you most certainly can. Just leave out the berries and pie filling and bake it the same way. You can also make this lemon with some lemon juice (about 2 lemons) and lemon zest. That would be really good. The sky is the limit.