Each and every winter holiday HAS to include my Cherry Cheesecake Pie! It’s a must. My dad and uncles ask for it each and every year and would be terribly disappointed if it didn’t make it’s way onto the dessert table! My mom used to make this growing up for every winter occasion and over time the responsibility got transferred to me, gladly. This recipe is so easy. It’s so easy in fact that it wasn’t until very recently that I ever really made a real actual cheese cake!
This pie hits all the flavor notes you look for in a cheesecake and it’s creamy and velvety to boot. This could quite possibly be the easiest cheesecake recipe you will ever find! Half the ingredients are ready-made, which makes it a piece of cake, or pie as it were. And the filling itself is a grand total of 4 ingredients! With the pre-made pie crust and pre-made topping, that’s 6 ingredients! So, if you have been asked to bring desert and you are looking for something quick and easy that will please a crowd, I highly suggest giving this recipe a try!
On this specific night, I made a cheesecake pie for dessert at my book club. Normally, I make two of these babies and put topping on one and leave the other plain. But, my book club is made up of a small group of ladies and so one was just fine. The only issue was that neither of my sisters like cherry topping, they prefer their cheesecake pie plain. So, I solved the issue by leaving the pie naked and serving the topping in a bowl on the side. Which worked out great because I got to have extra topping! Haha!
Let me show you how I do it!
Start by adding two bars of room temperature cream cheese to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Mix for about 2 minutes on high.
Add in one egg and scrape down the sides. Beat on high another minute until egg is fully combined.
Add in sugar.
And vanilla.
Unwrap a pre-made graham cracker pie crust.
Add mixture to the crust.
Smooth it out. Pop it in the oven for about 40 minutes or so at 350°F.
Bake for about 35-40 minutes until you start to see golden brown spots on top. When it comes out of the oven, it will be a bit puffy and have some cracks in it. This is normal.
The puff will fall, the cracks will remain.
Grab a can of pre-made pie filling, if you don’t like cherry, you could use blueberry or strawberry, heck even peach if you like.
Cover the top of the pie with the filling or dish it out individually like this. Place the pie slice on a plate and keep the filling in a bowl for people to help themselves.
Then each person can put as much or as little as they like.
Semi-Homemade Cherry Cheesecake Pie
Serves 6-8Ingredients:
2 bars cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. real vanilla extract
1 pre-made graham cracker pie crust
1 can cherry pie filling
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add in 2 bars of cream cheese and beat on high for about 2 minutes until it is completely smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add in egg and beat on high for another minute until completely incorporated. Scrape down the sides again and add in sugar and vanilla and beat again until completely incorporated.
Pour mixture into the pre-made pie crust and smooth out. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown spots start to form on top. Allow to cool and add topping as desired.
*When using a gluten-free cookie base, this recipe is easily made into a gluten-free recipe. The filling is gluten-free. Check can ingredients for the topping.