Emmy in her Element: Strawberry cheesecake-pie

Is there such a thing as a cheesecake-pie?? Last weekend I made a fresh strawberry pie for Easter dessert. During the process of mixing the strawberries in this wonderful sweet strawberry glaze, I realized that the pie would be so much tastier with a cream-cheesy layer to add a cheesecake like element. I can't fully call this a cheesecake or a strawberry pie alone because of the portions of both the cream filling and the strawberry filling. With a little experimentation and thumbs up from my best and most honest taste tester husband, I give to you a very simple but sweet and delicious (Griswold drumroll please)... Strawberry cheesecake-pie.

Strawberry cheesecake-pie

Recipe source: Emmy in her Element

Ingredients:

{crust}

1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup melted butter

1/4 cup sugar

Mix together and press into 9" pie dish. Bake in 375 degree oven for 6-8 minutes or until set and golden. Watch closely, this can burn! Let cool until room temp or cool in refrigerator before spreading cream filling.

{cream filling}

8 oz room temperature cream cheese

3 heaping tablespoons powdered sugar

1 cup whipped cream (I mixed up some heavy cream homemade and just whipped this up very first)

Beat whipped cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Gently fold in heavy cream until incorporated.

Spread into cooled graham cracker crust about 1/2" in thickness.

{Strawberry topping}

1 box strawberry junket Danish Dessert.

2-3 cups fresh chopped strawberries (more or less depending on how high you want to pile them, yum!)

Follow directions on Danish dessert filling (the box calls to mix the powder with 1 3/4 cup water, I took out 2 tablespoons water and replaced it with 2 tablespoons lemon juice to add tartness). Let cool slightly before mixing strawberries into the glaze.

Assemble pie by baking crust, letting cool and then spreading with cream filling and topping with deliciously glazed fresh strawberries (make sure this is cool enough it wont melt your cream filling). Let this pie have 2-3 hours to set in the fridge before its ready to eat. I like to add fresh whipped cream on the pie right before serving.