I shared a few weeks back that we had visited a local strawberry farm on Sunday afternoon and picked some berries. When we got home that evening I got super excited about berry desserts, and I made both a strawberry poke cake and a strawberry pie. But this pie wasn’t just any strawberry pie. When we had been at the farm, I asked the farmer what his favorite ways to use berries are, and he mentioned that a local Amish woman always brings him a pie during berry season. He made sure to mention that you have to have the strawberry pie with cream cheese, and the layer of cream cheese has to be nice and thick. Well he’s an expert, right? I came right home, found a recipe (one that looked like it had a nice thick layer of cream cheese), and whipped one up. It was a winner, and I want to share that recipe with you today.
This recipe has been an automatic favorite. I ate one piece from that first pie, and was planning to eat another piece the next day before it all disappeared. Imagine my utter shock, disappointment, and (almost) rage when farmer Matt ate the last (very large) piece for lunch before I had the chance to mention I wanted some more. Heartbreak.
This past weekend, I needed to prepare a dish for my family reunion. I mentioned that I might make this pie again and Matt was completely on board. That made my decision, so I made it again, two pies this time, and one of them ended up with some peaches in it too. It was delicious as well!
If you’re planning to make a strawberry pie, first you need some berries! If possible, you want some nice fresh berries. Let’s talk about where to find some.
Finding The Best Strawberries
When it comes to good strawberries, buy local! Find a local berry farm or visit your farmers market to pick some up. Berries from the grocery store will make a good pie, but locally picked berries will make a great pie. Not sure where to find a local farm? Here are a few ideas.
Finding A Local Berry Farm
If you’re not sure where to find local farms, take a look at these resources to help.
U-Pick Farm Locator, Find You Pick Farms Near Youupickfarmlocator.com
Pick your own Farms in the U.S, Canada, Britain and other …www.pickyourown.org
Indiana Indiana U-Pick farms: Find a pick your own farm near …www.pickyourown.org › …
You can always do a quick search for ‘local you pick farms’ or ‘you pick farms near me.’ Posting a quick question on Facebook will likely get you some good answers too!
Farm Market Locator
If you don’t want to pick your own berries but you still want some nice, fresh berries, you could look up a local farm market. Try these resources:
Farmers’ Markets – LocalHarvestwww.localharvest.org › farmers-markets
Farmers Markets – USDAsearch.ams.usda.gov › farmersmarkets
Where to Find a Real Local Farm Market, Farm Stand or …www.localfarmmarkets.org
Farmers’ Market Finder by the Ecology Centerecologycenter.org › fmfinder
My Other Gig And Some Strawberry Paper Crafts
Normally here on my blog I share about papercrafting – learning to make cards and other pretty things with paper. Here is a neat strawberry card I made recently. If you would like to know more about paper crafts, start here or contact me for more info.
A Few Reviews Of This Strawberry Pie With Cream Cheese
Let’s get back to the recipe. I don’t share recipes on my blog unless they are good ones. Great ones actually. Like I said, I’ve only made this recipe twice but I already know it’s going to be a long-standing favorite. Farmer Matt can be hard to please in the kitchen, but he is a huge fan, and he doesn’t even like most sweets. You have to try this recipe!
I got the original recipe from Sugar Spun Run, and I definitely recommend you check out their recipes. I’ve made a few and they’ve all been delicious. I did modify this recipe slightly to use Cool Whip instead of whipping cream. It saves a little time, and I always keep Cool Whip in the freezer so that was one less item to pick up at the store. I also chose to use a regular pie crust instead of a graham cracker crust. Using graham crackers just didn’t sound right to me. Pick the type of crust that sounds best to you!
A Few Comments From Me!
Let’s Make Some Strawberry Pie With Cream Cheese
Ok, let’s get started. Let’s talk about how to make this amazing pie.
Pie Crust – To Make Or To Buy
Let’s talk about the crust first. I probably would have used a store-bought crust, but I forgot to pick one up at the grocery. I’ve never been great at making crusts, but I wasn’t going to run into town again, so I decided to make one. Sometimes Plan B is so much better than Plan A!
I got the crust recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction, and she has amazing recipes as well. My crust was not even remotely pretty and I know I need some serious practice at this, but…it was delicious! It was by far the best crust I’ve ever made. Farmer Matt even commented that it was a really good crust. A comment from him that anything is ‘really good’ is in itself a small miracle!
Of course you can buy a pre-baked crust or dough to bake yourself. You can also choose a graham cracker crust if you prefer.
Cream Cheese Filling
The cream cheese filling in this pie is the perfect compliment to the berries. For the cream cheese filling, blend the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Then fold in the whipped topping.
After the crust has cooled, spread the cream cheese mixture in it evenly.
Next you’ll want to prepare the filling.
Strawberry Pie Filling
To prepare the strawberry filling, first mix 2 cups of berries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a saucepan. This will be heated until it boils for 1 minute – make sure to stir to prevent burning!
Remove pan from the heat and allow it to cool. When fully cooled, mix with remaining berries and place on top of the cream cheese mixture.
Now unfortunately, you’re supposed to refrigerate this for a few hours to allow it to set up, but I won’t tell if you break the rules and eat some sooner than that!
My pie isn’t the prettiest, but YUM. So good.
What About A Strawberry Peach Pie Instead?
Would you like to try a fun substitution? Replace some of the fresh berries with peaches and have a strawberry peach pie! I ran out of berries when I was making two of these for my family reunion, so I pulled out some peaches. This one was delicious too!
Other Favorite Strawberry Recipes
What are some other favorite recipes of yours? Here’s the strawberry poke cake I made, and it was excellent. Jam is always a favorite of ours too.
Other Favorite Recipes
Here are a few other favorite recipes here on my blog if you would like to try them!
Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies…
…and Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars.
Without further ado, here’s the recipe. Happy eating!
Strawberry Pie With Cream Cheese Recipe
Strawberry Pie With Cream Cheese
Ingredients
Pie Crust
- 1 Pie crust or graham cracker crust OR
- 2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
- 1 t. salt
- 6 T. unsalted butter, chilled
- 3/4 c. shortening
- 1/2 c. ice water
Strawberry Pie Filling
- 5-6 c. strawberries, stems removed and sliced, divided
- 1/2 c. sugar
- 2 T. cornstarch
- 1 T. lemon juice
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 c. powdered sugar
- 1/2 t. vanilla extract
- 4 oz. frozen whipped topping, thawed
Instructions
Pie Crust
- Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add shortening and butter.
- Use a pastry blender or two forks to cut butter and shortening into the flour mixture. Mix until crumbly.
- Measure 1/2 cup water in a cup and add ice. Allow to sit for a minute, then remove ice and again measure 1/2 cup of water. Drizzle the cold water into the flour mixture, 1 Tablespoon at a time. Mix/fluff with a fork each time water is added. Stop adding water when the dough begins to form large clumps, and do not add more water than needed. It is possible you may need more than 1/2 cup, but this amount typically is enough.
- Transfer the dough to a floured surface. Use your hands to fold dough repeatedly until it comes together and flour is incorporated.
- Form dough into a ball and divide in half. Flatten each ball and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Roll out the dough and place in pie plate. Poke dough with a fork several times across the bottom of the plate. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until edges are beginning to turn golden.
Strawberry Pie Filling
- Combine 2 cups strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a saucepan. Turn heat on to low-medium. Stir until mixture becomes juicy.
- Use a potato masher to crush strawberries.
- Raise heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
- Stir constantly, and boil for 1 minute. Remove pan from heat. Transfer mixture to a glass bowl to cool, and place in refrigerator.
Cream Cheese Filling
- Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl. Beat until blended.
- Fold whipped topping into cream cheese mixture until smooth.
- Spread evenly into prepared crust (after cooled) and place in refrigerator.
Assembly
- When strawberry mixture has cooled, add remaining strawberries and mix. Pour over cream cheese layer. Place in the refrigerator for 4 hours before serving.
Video
Thanks for visiting for this amazing Strawberry Pie With Cream Cheese recipe!
Yum! Thank you for the recipe, Anna! I think I will make it for the Fourth! I love how you tell us about your life and Stampin’ life! God Bless!
I hope it turns out as well as mine have. Thanks so much for following along. Happy 4th to you!
After you make it, I would appreciate if you give it a rating using the stars at the top of the recipe. Thank you!
First off love your emails, your trips to the fields, your cards—so down to earth you are! Thanks for the recipe for strawberry pie–cannot wait to try it. Keep up the good work—Donna
Thanks so much Donna! I appreciate you following along with the things I share. Let me know how the pie turns out!
Made the pie at our July 4th celebration and it was delicious. It will be added to our menu every year.
Wonderful, I’m glad it was a hit!
Thank you so much for sharing the recipe and kudos for acknowledging where you got it! Strawberry season is pretty much done in SE Wisconsin but I’ll check out the Farmer’s Market this weekend. Thanks too for your other recipes. The blueberry cheesecake bars look pretty amazing. Farmer Matt is one lucky guy!
Awww thanks Terry! Thank you for following along here on my blog. I would love to know what you think about the pie when you have a chance to try it!
Very tasty and easy to make. Took it to a picnic and it was a hit.
Wonderful!! Would you mind leaving a quick review at the top of the recipe card?
Nevermind I think I already asked you that 🙂