Happy 4th of July! 🇺🇸 What better way to celebrate than with a delicious and festive dessert? This year, I whipped up a mini strawberry cream cheese pie that was a total showstopper.
Fresh strawberries are bursting with flavor right now, and they're the perfect filling for this creamy, dreamy pie. The original recipe from Everyday Pie called for a pretzel graham cracker crust, but I opted for classic graham crackers for a simpler prep.
Since I was using a 6-inch springform pan, I halved the recipe, which turned out perfectly. The result? A miniature masterpiece that was devoured in minutes! We both couldn't resist going back for seconds (maybe even thirds...).
This recipe is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, perfect for a small gathering or a sweet treat for two. So ditch the store-bought desserts and try your hand at this easy-to-make pie! Let me know in the comments below if you give it a try.
Ingredients - This is the recipe for a full-size pie.
Graham Cracker Pretzel Crust:
2 ounces (about 1/2 cup, lightly packed) pretzels crumbs
6 ounces (about 1-1/2 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 (1-1/2 blocks) of 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
⅓ to ½ cup (70 -100 grams) of sugar (depending on how sweet the strawberries are)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Pinch salt
Method-
Make the Pie Crust:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Mix together the pretzel crumbs, graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar and salt in a bowl.
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:
Beat the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer (using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer) until smooth, about 3 minutes.
Add in the egg, sour cream, vanilla extract and almond extract and beat until smooth, about 1 minute.
Transfer the filling into the prepared crust and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the outer 2-1/2” is slightly puffed and the filling doesn’t wiggle.
Let cool on a wire rack while the topping is prepared.
Make Strawberry Topping and Assemble Pie:
Add ½ cup (3 ounces) of sliced strawberries to a blender with lemon juice and blend until completely smooth.
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.
Add in strawberries and cook, stirring frequently until it returns to a simmer, then shut off the heat.
Transfer the filling to the top of the pie, and smooth over the top.
Let the pie continue to cool at room temperature, and then transfer to a refrigerator to set up for 4-6 hours.
Serve chilled, with whipped cream and fresh strawberries.
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