mulberryshoots

photo courtesy of NYTimes recipe

our cheesecake pie for dessert tonight!

Years ago, I made a refrigerator pie with a cream cheese filling. It was a favorite and I hadn’t made it in a long time. The other day, I saw a recipe on the NYTimes food chain provided by Amanda Hesser’s mother. It used a handmade Nabisco wafer crust with melted butter and cinnamon, 2 packages of cream cheese, 2 eggs, sugar and a sour cream topping.

I simplified it and used a prepared Nabisco oreo crust from the grocery store, brushed it with melted butter and sprinkled a little cinnamon on it. I baked the crust by itself at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes. I think this baking step makes the crust crisp so that later it can be cut easily and the cheesecake slice easy to lift out of the pan.

The filling is made by using a mixer and beating two eggs with the two packs of room temperature cream cheese. If it’s too cold, the little lumps are hard to whip out of the filling. Instead of 2/3rds cup of sugar, I used less and mixed it in with some vanilla before filling the cooled crust and baking for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

After the baked pie had a chance to cool, I stirred together 12 ounces of sour cream with about 2 tablespoons of sugar, spread it evenly on the top of the pie and baked it for 7 minutes in a 450 degree oven. I let it cool to room temperature and then put it in the fridge on a cork pad to chill for a few hours before serving.

As I mentioned above, it cuts cleanly and comes out of the pie pan easily. Plus, it tastes divine! It’s appetizing for a summer meal dessert and is so easy to make.