My Gramma wrote down most of her recipes, but she made some of our favorites so often that the only “recipe” she had was a scrap of paper with some scrawled-out ingredients. My mom and aunts were able to figure out the instructions for most of these recipes, but the family favorite Cherry Cream Cheese Pie took a bit more trial and error. I remember my mom making a fresh pie every day for a week trying to figure out exactly how my Gramma had done it. With lots of trial and error and collective memories from all of us (that’s not how she used to mix it!) my mom finally figured out Gramma’s Cherry Cream Cheese Pie. When my brother finds out I made this, he’ll flip out – it’s his favorite (and he’s pretty picky).

Cherry Cream Cheese Pie

You need:

cherry cream chees pie ingredients1 8-ounce package of softened cream cheese
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 can cherry pie filling
9-inch baked pie shell

First, either bake a pie shell or buy one already made. I baked a Trader Joe’s frozen pie shell, then set it aside to cool.

mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla together

Mush up your softened cream cheese, then put it in a mixing bowl with the vanilla and powdered sugar.

hand mix until smooth

Mix it all together until it’s smooth. It’s much easier to do this by hand (says my mom).

beat whipped cream until peaks form

Beat the whipping cream until it’s stiff.

add the cream cheese mixture to the whipped cream

Add the cream cheese mixture to the whipped cream.

fold together

Fold together the cream cheese mixture and the whipped cream.

MORE SPOON

Feed your child. This counts as lunch, right?

spread evenly

Pour the mix into the center of the pie shell and spread it out evenly.

chill it

Stick the pie in your freezer for about 45 minutes to help it set, then put in your fridge until you’re ready to serve it!

lick the spoons

Don’t let any pie filling go to waste.

add cherries before serving

When it’s time to serve, add the cherries to the top of the pie. If you’re not going to eat the pie all at once, add the cherries to each individual slice.

cherry cream cheese pie loves you

We are obviously going to eat our pie all at once. Look, I made a heart for Valentine’s Day. AWWWWWWWW.

cherry cream cheese pie

The crust is flaky and the filling is sweet and the cherries are tangy. YUM.

time to eat

Annie was excited to eat, almost as if the lunch I’d served her earlier wasn’t enough.

bites

delish

After I took this picture, Annie leaned forward and stuck her fork into the rest of the pie that’s just out of frame. So yeah, she likes it.

P.S. I texted my brother a picture of Annie eating the pie and he replied, “I will be there in forty minutes.”

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Cherry Cream Cheese Pie
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Prep time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 1 pie
 
Ingredients
  • 1 8-ounce package of softened cream cheese
  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 can cherry pie filling
  • 9-inch baked pie shell
Instructions
  1. Bake pie shell
  2. Hand mix together cream cheese, sifted powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth
  3. In a separate bowl, beat the whipping cream until peaks form
  4. Gently fold in cream cheese mixture until incorporated
  5. Pour mix into baked pie shell
  6. Place in freezer for 45 minutes to set
  7. Chill in fridge until ready to serve
  8. Add cherries just before serving