Berry Swirl Cheesecake Pie

Cheesecake is such a wonderful dessert, but it can be a very time consuming and involved project for a busy schedule. This recipe is a great solution for those who want the flavor of the cheesecake without all the work. There are many versions of cheesecake pie to choose from, but the thing that I really like about this one is the added simplicity of using a good quality jam for the burst of flavor rather than higher calorie additions. If you and your family like cheesecake, this one is worth a try. Blessings...

Recipe:

Pastry for a single-crust 9" pie
2 pkgs. (8 ozs. each) low-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
3 tbsps. good quality jam (I use triple berry)
Whipped topping or sweetened whipped cream

1. Line unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450 degrees for 5 minutes; remove foil. Bake 5 minutes longer. Remove from the oven; reduce heat to 350 degrees.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth.
3. Add the eggs, beating on low speed just until combined.
4. Pour into pastry shell. Drizzle the jam over the filling. Cut through the filling with a knife to swirl the jam.
5. Bake the pie for 25 - 30 minutes or until center is almost set.
6. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate overnight to blend flavors.
7. Top with whipped topping or whipped cream, if desired.

Serves 6 - 8

Tip: If you want to pipe sweetened whipped cream on your pie, here is an easy way to do it. Snip a bottom corner off a sandwich bag. A cut of about 1/2" should give you a good sized piping edge. Fill the bag with the whipped cream and gently squeeze the whipped cream around the outer edge of the pie. Also, if you add a teaspoon of white corn syrup to the heavy cream along with the confectioners sugar and vanilla, the whipped cream will be more stable and hold its shape on the pie. I use 1 cup of heavy cream, whipped stiff, for the piping.