Cream Cheese Pie

Steve came home from work awhile ago raving about this cream cheese pie he had tried from Marie Callender's. "You mean cheesecake?" I said. "No it was cream cheese PIE." So I was left scratching my head trying to figure out the difference. Until now! Steve asked that I try to find a cream cheese pie recipe to try out for Father's Day and I willingly obliged. This recipe caught my eye because one of the reviewers said it hit the spot when he was craving the Marie Callender's version. And it turned out better than I expected! It was so creamy and softer than a traditional cheesecake with a little extra tang from that sour cream topping. You can top it with berries or sauce or anything but it is delicious on its own too. I saw a few reviewers liked adding lemon zest or juice to the filling or topping and so that's an option too. We will definitely make this again. It might make a great option for Thanksgiving since you can make it a day ahead of time. Try it and join the Cream Cheese Pie fan club like us!


CREAM CHEESE PIE
(crust from Mel and pie from Allrecipes)

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (1 package, 13 rectangle graham crackers)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the crust, combine all the ingredients together in a small bowl and stir until the graham cracker crumbs are evenly moistened; the mixture will look like wet sand. Put on bottom and up sides of 9 or 9 1/2 inch pie plate. Set aside.

For the filling: **For smooth pie mix cream cheese until smooth before adding other ingredients.** 

Combine cream cheese, eggs, 1 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on low speed until smooth. Pour filling into graham cracker crust.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35-45 minutes. (35 min. was perfect in my oven) Remove pie from oven. Raise oven temperature to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

Topping: In a small bowl, blend sour cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla together. Gently spread mixture over pie.
Bake for five minutes at 450 degrees.
Let cool completely and then chill in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight.
Can top with berries or any cheesecake type topping but honestly, it's pretty amazing on its own.