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Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie

A slice of strawberry cream cheese pie.

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5 from 2 reviews

This Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie, with a salty sweet pretzel graham cracker crust, a creamy rich cheesecake filling and a beautiful homemade strawberry topping, is an amazing and delicious (make-ahead) dessert everyone will love.

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Pretzel Crust:

  • 2 ounces (about 1/2 cup, lightly packed) pretzels crumbs
  • 6 ounces (about 1-½ cups, lightly packed) graham cracker crumbs
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
  • Pinch of salt

Cream Cheese Filling:

  • 14 ounces (1-½ blocks) cream cheese, softened
  • ¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (60 grams) sour cream
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract (optional)

For Strawberry Filling:

  • 16 ounces (1 quart) ripe strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • to 1/2 cup (70 -100 grams) sugar (depends on how sweet the strawberries are)
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • Pinch salt

Instructions

Make the Pie Crust:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
  2. Mix together the pretzel crumbs, graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar and salt in a bowl.
  3. Pour the crumbs into the pie plate and start pressing the ingredients up the sides of the pie plate to form the edges first. Once the edges are formed work the crumbs down to evenly distribute into the bottom of the pie plate and stamp it down.

Bake the Cream Cheese Pie:

  1. Beat the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer (using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer) until smooth, about 3 minutes.
  2. Add in the egg, sour cream, vanilla extract and almond extract and beat until smooth, about 1 minute.
  3. Transfer the filling into the prepared crust and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the outer 2-½” is slightly puffed and the filling doesn’t wiggle.
  4. Let cool on a wire rack while the topping is prepared.

Make Strawberry Topping and Assemble Pie:

  1. Add 1/2 cup (3 ounces) of sliced strawberries to a blender with lemon juice  and blend until completely smooth.
  2. Stir together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a pot. Pour in the strawberry puree and stir to combine. Heat over medium low and cook until the filling is bubbling, about 3-5 minutes.
  3. Add in strawberries and cook, stirring frequently until it comes back to a simmer, then shut off the heat.
  4. Transfer the filling to the top of the pie, and smooth over the top.
  5. Let the pie continue to cool at room temperature, and then transfer to a refrigerator to set up for 4-6 hours.
  6. Serve chilled, with whipped cream and fresh strawberries.