Take-out Tuesday, 4th of July Strawberry Cheesecake Pie!

the Painted Apron

5 years ago

Today the rest of my family arrives for the 4th and we are going to kick off our celebration tonight with a 4th of July Strawberry Cheesecake Pie!

Luscious fresh summer strawberries,

Creamy cheesecake filling…

and oh, did I mention the sugar cookie crust??

Nothing complicated but it certainly turns out to be a show stopper!

It’s a summer breeze to make

there’s still plenty of time to add it to your holiday menu!

First, make a strawberry sauce for the pie filling mixture

Cook and stir the berries over medium low heat

Once the berries have cooked down and the sugar has melted, mash them with a potato masher or immersible blender to puree…it doesn’t have to be totally smooth

Boil over medium high heat for a minute, then put the mixture in a bowl in the refrigerator to cool

Spray a deep glass pie dish with cooking spray and arrange cookies in the bottom and up the sides, leaving space for them to expand as they bake

I only used 18 of the 24 cookies in the package, and baked the remaining cookies per package directions for, well, for cookies!

When cookies are almost done, pat them down with the back of a spoon to coax them into more of a flat crust and return to oven until the dough is golden and cooked through

Make the cheesecake filling by mixing the cream cheese with powdered sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl, then fold in the Cool Whip

Spread it onto the cooled cookie crust

Form it into an even layer over the crust

Mix the chilled berry puree with the remaining strawberries

Place the strawberry mixture on top of the cheesecake layer

And a pie is born!

Chill for 3 or 4 hours and garnish with something festive!

I used a little reserved whipped topping and canned icing rosettes

Strawberry Cheesecake Pie

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword strawberry cheesecake, strawberry cheesecake pie, strawberry dessert, strawberry pie

Prep Time 15

Chill time 3

Servings 6

Ingredients

sugar cookie dough* {I used Pillsbury ready to bake sugar cookie dough}

Strawberry Filling

2 16 oz containers fresh strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 T cornstarch
1 T fresh lemon juice

Cheesecake Filling

8 oz cream cheese softened {I used light whipped cream cheese}
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tub 8 oz., Cool Whip, thawed {or substitute 1 cup of heavy cream whipped}

Instructions

Make strawberry filling first so it has time to cool. Hull strawberries and cut in 1/4s. Place 1/3 of berries into a saucepan with sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Cook over medium low heat until berries release their juice and sugar melts down.
Mash with a potato masher or blend with an immersible blender. Turn heat up to medium high and let mixture boil for one minute. Remove from heat. Place pureed strawberries into a bowl and refrigerate while preparing the rest of the pie.
Arrange sugar cookie dough pieces in a glass pie dish, leaving a little space between them for expansion while cooking.
Bake at 350 and check after 10 minutes. Continue to bake and check over the next 5 minutes. When cookies begin to turn golden and are puffy, use the back of a large spoon to deflate them and pack dough down. Return to oven and bake crust until dough is just done. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
Mix cream cheese with powdered sugar and vanilla with a beater or in a mixer. Fold in Cool Whip or whipped cream.
Spread cheesecake mixture over the cooled cookie crust in and even layer.
Combine remaining fresh berries with cooled pureed berries. Spoon berries over cheesecake layer in crust. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours for best slicing results. Garnish with additional whipped cream, sprinkles or mint.