The indisputable awesomeness of cream cheese pie

It was Peter’s birthday the other day, which means we had to have cream cheese pie. I don’t know how many years ago his mother started making cream cheese pie, but it’s been Peter’s favorite pie ever since he can remember. It’s a good choice, too, because it is delicious–smooth and creamy and luscious.

The thing with cream cheese pie is it’s a crowdpleaser. I have not met a single person who does not like cream cheese pie (well, maybe Frenchie, but she does not like cream cheese frosting, so clearly there is something wrong with her to begin with). It’s simple to make, and it keeps. In fact, the secret is it gets better with age. It is the perfect after-school snack, for days and days.

CREAM CHEESE PIE

Crust:
1 package graham crackers (there are usually, what, 3 packages per box?)
1/2 stick butter at room temp

Filling:
12 ounces cream cheese, softened and whipped (I often “cheat” and use one brick of regular cream cheese and half a brick of the low-fat stuff)
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Topping:
1 cup sour cream
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tsp vanilla

First make the crust. Here’s my method: crush the graham crackers (I break the crackers up into pieces, put them into a ziploc baggie, then gently whack and roll with a rolling pin. I leave a little bit of the baggie unsealed so it doesn’t pop and explode). Dump the crumbs into a 9″ pie dish. Plop the softened butter into the crumbs, then smush together with your fingers (I wear surgical gloves. Really) until it holds together. Press along the sides and bottom of the dish.

For the filling, combine all the ingredients, but make sure you have whipped the cream cheese until light before you add everything else. Beat the mixture until light, then pour into the prepared crust. Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes. Leave the oven on but take the pie out and let it sit for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, make the topping by combining the ingredients. Gently plop the topping onto the pie by the spoonful. Spread evenly. Bake an additional 10 minutes. Cool then refrigerate about 5 hours.

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9 Responses to The indisputable awesomeness of cream cheese pie

  1. freecia says:

    Deedle! Awesome.

    My cousin started baking a few years back and he uses low fat cream cheese in his cheesecake. It really doesn’t taste the same. Maybe a half regular and half low fat would be a good alt.

  2. julie says:

    Wow! This sounds amazing! I’ll bookmark it for later 🙂

  3. yumeko says:

    ok definetely trying this out! i love a recipe like this
    btw i added u on twitter! hope tats cool [username bittenbefore]

  4. Seanna Lea says:

    Yum. My family did a no-bake pie similar to this. We would take cream cheese and beat it with sugar and pudding mix, and then fold in whipped topping (store brand coolwhip) and pour it into a pie shell. We would top it with fruity pie toppings.

    I should see if I can recreate it with healthier ingredients (or at least more homemade/less artificial).

  5. Kym says:

    A very similar recipe (with a cherry pie filling based topping) has been in my family for a couple generations as well, but after making it once without lemon juice (because I ran out and I’m lazy) I found I like it slightly better that way. More cheesey.

    And yes, it does taste better with age, but if anybody’s around when I make it, it lasts all of maybe 2 hours.

  6. Claire says:

    mmmm ! Mm! My that looks good…

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  8. Debbie says:

    Cream cheese pie is the favorite of all the girls and dog in our house. The guys around here not so much in love. That just means all the more for the rest of us. It also works with fruit for breakfast. I better go take the cream cheese out of the fridge. YUM

  9. Ele says:

    This sounds fabulous, but I’m a little confused — how is this different from cheesecake?

    I plan to try it, substituting non-fat greek yogurt for the sour cream.

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