#84 Strawberry Cheesecake Pie

You can easily buy a cheesecake, but you can also make a phenomenal one. So easy. Nothing compares to home made cheesecake from scratch. Smooth, dangerously decadent, just the right amount of sweetness. It's okay to give in to your senses sometimes, it's probably what you will ever need after a long day. Indulge, believe me, it is worth it.


STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE PIE
 
Yield: 8 servings


Ingredients:

2 packages  (8 ounces each) cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8-inch graham cracker crust, recipe follows
1 cup halved strawberries
2 tablespoons red currant or strawberry jelly

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees
2. In a food processor, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in sugar and egg. Beat in the sour cream, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla.
3. Pour the mixture into the graham cracker crust and bake for 35 minutes, or until set.
4. Place the pie on a rack to cool to room temperature and then chill for at least 1 hour, or until serving time.
5. Before serving, halve the strawberries and arrange them around the top edge of the cheesecake pie.
6. Melt the jelly in a small skillet or saucepan, or microwave, and spoon or brush the melted jelly over the strawberries to glaze them.

For the Pie Crust:


Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup melted butter
3 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients and then pat the mixture into an 8 inch pie plate.

Recipe adapted from Time Life Books' Fast Fresh and Delicious.


Cream Cheese originated in America and was created by William Lawrence in Chester, N.Y.. It was created accidentally while trying to reproduce the French soft cheese called Neufchâtel. While this recipe is definitely American because the recipe mainly consists of cream cheese, sugar and eggs, cheesecake did not originate in the US. Other variations from different parts of Europe use different types of cheese. It is believed to have originated in Ancient Greece, and was spread by the Romans across Europe. Several hundred years later,  it was brought to America by immigrants.

She never left the kitchen from start to finish :)

I have to let you know that it has approximately 444 calories per serving- heavy, but that sounds better compared to Cheesecake Factory's 570 to 1330 calories per slice cheesecakes! But hey, if it will cost you 444 calories to smile on one given day, by all means have it. I cleaned the entire house and ran around playing tag after we ate it. :) 

I fought hard not to eat another slice, but I lost the battle. Just too good.