Since Easter is only a few days away, I thought it the perfect time for something sweet. Mom got this recipe from one of our two-flat’s neighbors, Johnnie, a wonderful woman whose daughter and my sister remain very close friends to this day. Easy to make, this is a perfect dessert for any party, potluck, or family dinner. If you wish, you can use canned pie filling and ready-made pie crusts — I told you it was easy. On the other hand, if you’ve got the time, you can make your own pastry dough and/or topping from fresh or frozen fruit. Either way, you’ll end up with a great little dessert.
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Cherry Cheesecake Pizza Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pie crusts, ready-made or equivalent amount of pastry dough — not puff pastry
- two 8 oz packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup walnuts, rough chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- two 14.5 oz cans of pie filling (or use 2 cans/bottles of tart cherries and follow the maker’s recipe on the container to make a filling)
- Whipped cream for serving – optional
Directions
- Pre-heat oven to 350*.
- Roll pastry dough until large enough to cover the pan, as well as to create a ridge along the edge of the pan. Transfer to pan, prick with fork several times, and bake on center rack of oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.
- Using a hand or stand mixer, beat together cream cheese and sugar.
- Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until well-blended. Add vanilla and mix well.
- Add the walnuts and mix using a spoon or spatula.
- Once the crust is thoroughly cooled, pour the cream cheese mixture over the crust and use an offset spatula to make it smooth.
- Bake in pre-heated 350* oven until set, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely before proceeding.
- Carefully pour and spread fruit topping to cover the cheesecake. Refrigerate until well-chilled, at least 2 hours.
- Serve with whipped cream, if desired.
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Variations
The original recipe called for one ready-made pie crust and one 8 oz package of cream cheese. Mom always doubled the amount of cream cheese and used both pie crusts, as well. This cheesecake was originally made on a 14″ or 16″ round pizza pan but, lacking one, I use a 12″ x 9″ sheet pan instead. Lastly, the original recipe used cherries for the topping. You can easily substitute blueberries, strawberries, or whatever fruit you prefer.
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from the Bartolini kitchens 