Recipe: Need an Emergency Pie? Try This Easy Cherry- Cream Cheese Pie

 

This one was just a "throw-together" pie that turned out really, really well. I have to post about it so I don't forget. 

It all started with a pre-made pie shell that I wanted to use before it was unusable. I like to make my own pie dough & I don't buy pie shells very often, but I was curious about the texture & flavor. It was a Pillsbury frozen crust. (I am always leery of Pillsbury products because some of their products have an unpleasant aftertaste.) Since these were in the freezer section, I thought it might differ from the refrigerated version. They seem to be pretty popular. I remember when Pet was the king of pie shells in this area, but I guess they got out of the pie shell game, or they just don't ship to our area anymore. 

I've never been a fan of canned fruit for pies because most of them have an obscene, insane amount of sugar. So I'm either going to use fresh fruit, frozen, or dehydrated. This time it was frozen cherries. There was one package in the freezer, the organic kind. It was only 10 ounces. 

I thought, well, I can always just make a galette with the filling, but it was such a small amount, I changed my mind. I didn't want to add any other kind of fruit, so I decided to use an 8 ounce package of cream cheese that was also in the freezer. Posipka was the finishing touch. I had some of that in the freezer as well, but it's something you can throw together in minutes, so it's not a big deal if you don't have any on hand. 

Ingredients: 

Homemade pie dough for one 8-9 inch pie, or a store-bought pie shell.  (I'm sure it would be great with a graham cracker or cookie crust too.)

One 10 oz. bag of organic frozen cherries

One 8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese

1/2 c granulated sugar (I used Zulka Mexican Sugar)

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla (I used vanilla paste for this recipe, but regular vanilla is fine)

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

Posipka at will! (you'll need sugar, flour, and butter for this)

Method

For the cherries:

Dump cherries in a saucepan, turn the heat on low. When they start to release juice, turn the heat up to medium. Once they have softened, you can mash them with a potato masher as much or as little as you please. 

Add 1/4 c of sugar to the cherries. Stir well. 

Mix the cornstarch with a little water (1/8 c or so) to make a slurry, then pull the cherries off the burner and add the slurry. Stir until combined, then put it back on the burner and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from burner, cover, and set aside to cool. It doesn't have to be completely cool before adding to the pie, but you don't want it too warm either. 

For the cream cheese:

Put the cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave until softened (30 to 60 seconds - do it in increments). You can do this in a pan on the stove if you don't like using, or don't have, a microwave oven. Once is it softened, (it's okay if it's a little "soupy," don't worry about it. Just try to keep soupy to a minimum). Add 1/4 c sugar, mix well. Let it cool slightly (pop it in the fridge for 10 minutes or so). It can be warm, but not too warm, so your egg won't curdle. After cooling, add the vanilla, mix well. Scramble the egg and add to mixture. Mix until well combined. 

Set oven temp to 350ºF. 

Prepare your pie shell, (or remove from package if store bought). 😄

Put the cream cheese mixture in the pie shell, use a rubber spatula, if you have one, to get every bit of it out of the bowl. Spread evenly on bottom of shell. Place in fridge while you prepare your posipka. If you want, you can top with the cherry mixture and either swirl it in, or leave it as is. Just make sure all of the cream cheese is covered if you opt not to swirl. 

For the posipka: 

I just "play it by ear" when I make posipka. Some people melt the butter, but it's better to leave it solid, IMO. That's how my Czech grandma did it too - solid. You have to gauge it depending on the recipe, but if you make too much, don't worry. It freezes nicely for your next dessert. 

I start with 2 Tbsps. butter, straight from the fridge. Add 2 Tbsps. flour & 2 Tbsps. granulated sugar. Then just pretend you are making pie dough and use a manual handheld pastry blender, or a fork. Mash until crumbly. You'll have to add additional flour as needed to get it to the right crumbly state. Sometimes I also end up adding a little more sugar. It's really a personal preference - some people like to make their posipka sweeter, some don't. I like a good balance. Just eyeball the posipka on the pie in the pic, that's what you want it to look like. Crumbles of all different sizes. 

After making the posipka, take out the pie. Add the cherries if you haven't already. Then sprinkle with posipka. Fire at will...or rather...posipka at will! 

Bake for 30-40 minutes, but check at the 30 mark. The dough should look golden by then, your cream cheese will look puffy, and you can test with a knife or toothpick to make sure it is done. Your dough should be okay at that temp without covering the edges, but if your oven runs hot, go ahead and use protection.  

Let it cool on the counter for a while, then put it in the fridge to cool completely. 

It might sound like it takes a long time to prep, but it doesn't. Once the cherries are done, the rest of the prep takes less than 10 minutes (if you have already prepared the pie dough, or have a purchased pie shell).

It's a tasty, quick dessert if you need one for a party or potluck. 

Enjoy!

P.S.) If any part of the instructions are unclear or seem goofy, just let me know and I'll clarify. I do proofread before posting, but sometimes I miss things. 😁