Hattie's Recipe Box

I remember eating Cherry Cream Cheese Pie for the first time in 1973, when my boyfriend's mother served me a slice. It was love at first bite for me, and I have loved it ever since.

Its taste is reminiscent of traditional cheesecake with cherry topping, but you don't have to bake this pie unlike cheesecake, which usually has a baking time of about an hour-in a water bath, too!

Who needs the hassle when you can whip one up in less than 10 minutes, pop it into the frig for three hours, and voilà-you have that distinctive delicious cheesecake taste.

My recent dining experience at The Cheesecake Factory in Frisco during spring break inspired me to rummage through my cookbook collection to locate this recipe, so that I could share it with you.

I found it in a Keebler Ready-Crust piecrust recipe book that I bought for $1.25 in the 1970's.

I hope you try this one and enjoy it as much as I do.

Remember you can use any flavor of pie filling you prefer if you don't like cherry.

Cherry Cream Cheese Pie

Supplies:

Medium-sized mixing bowl

Electric mixer

1-cup liquid measure

Measuring spoons

Spatula

Can opener

Ingredients:

1 Graham Cracker piecrust (Crusts come in two sizes, so choose the smaller size.)

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese softened (Can use low-fat or fat-free type although pie will not be quite as firm when using fat-free type.)

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk (Can use fat-free type.)

1/3 cup lemon juice (Can be bottled type.)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 can (1 pound 5 ounces) cherry pie filling (Can use sugar-free type.)

Directions:

Beat cream cheese until light and fluffy in a medium-sized mixing bowl.

Slowly add sweetened condensed milk, beating until smooth.

Stir in lemon juice and vanilla until well mixed.

Pour into crust, replacing plastic cover.

Place into refrigerator and chill until firm, about three hours.

Top with cherry pie filling.

Store any remaining pie in refrigerator.