Mom's Strawberry (Cream) Pie

I've had this little dessert several times as it is a favorite of my mom's to take to BBQs and family gatherings. It features fresh strawberries and the creaminess of cheesecake, without any of the work! This is really simple, and if you wanted to make it for a party, you could certainly do a better job on slicing and arranging the berries in a pretty way! I just went with a rustic look.

My mom calls it a Strawberry Pie but there's clearly a layer of cream in there, so .. that's where the this name came from:

Mom's Strawberry (Cream) Pie

This is for an 8x8 or 9x9 square pie dish or 8 or 9in circle pie pan. Double it up if you want to cover a 9x13.

1 pillsbury ready-to-bake pie crust (half of a package), softened

1 8oz package of Philly cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

2 packages of strawberries, or I imagine 4 or 5 cups - sliced or halved - however you'd like them.
3 tablespoons of strawberry or raspberry preserves

Yes - only five ingredients! See how easy this is?

Pre-heat the oven to 450. Grease your dish with butter (may not be necessary but this made for easy cutting for me) and place into your pie dish and bake as directed on Pillsbury package - 9 to 11 minutes or until lightly brown. Let cool completely.

Meanwhile, whip the cream cheese with the powdered sugar (maybe add a little at a time to make this easier). Taste to make sure it's sweet and not too tangy - add more sugar if necessary. This is also a good time to add some vanilla, which I had planned but apparently forgot - so feel free to flavor this sweet cream as you want.

When the crust is cooled, spread the sweet cream over the bottom of your pan so that you have a cream layer of 1/4in or slightly more or less - this isn't rocket science and I didn't break out the ruler or anything. Arrange your sliced strawberries on top of the cream layer, in some sort of an attractive fashion (or not).

Heat the preserves in a microwave safe bowl for a few seconds until it is warm and runny. Brush or spoon the preserves on top of the berries to give them a nice glaze.

This is an easy little pie, and it tastes like summer! It would be delicious with all kinds of fruits and berries, so get creative (or not)!