CREAM "CHEESECAKE" PIE

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Butter a 9" deep-dish pie plate. Make the crust: (Okay to eat a couple of cookies while you are setting all the ingredients, except the fruit, on the counter before you start.) Add all the vanilla wafer cookies to a food processor or ninja and pulse to make fine crumbs. No lumps. Add the sugar and baking powder and pulse again, just till mixed. If you are using the ninja, remove crumb mixture and add the melted butter and just mixed with your hands until the crumbs are moist. If you are using the food processor, pour melted butter and pulse, pulse, pulse. Just enough for the mixture to mix together. Press the cookie mixture into the buttered pie plate to cover the bottom and up the sides. Put in the oven and bake about 10 minutes until set and remove and set on a wire rack until cool. Leave the oven on.
• 2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer and paddle attachment, add one package of cream cheese, 1/3 cup of sugar and the cornstarch together on LOW for 3 minutes.
• 3. Blend in the remaining cream cheese, one package at a time, beating well after each one. Scraping the bowl after each one if needed. Should take about an additional 3 minutes.
• 4. Turn the mixer up to a medium speed. Do not go any faster. Beat in the remaining 1 1/3 cups of sugar, then the vanilla. Blend in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one. Hint: break egg into a small measuring cup and pour egg into mixture and then do the second one the same way. My sister has a large scoop that she can put as many eggs as needed and just drops the eggs one at a time into her mixture.
• 5. Beat in the cream just until completely blended. The batter will be creamy, light and airy. Be careful and do not over mix on this step.
• 6. Okay, pour your filling into the pie plate that has the cooled crust. Put into oven and bake until the pie is puffed, 30 to 35 minutes. The pie filling will rise and look like it has doubled in size and then it will settle as it cools. Set on a wire rack and let the pie cool for about an hour.
• 7. Meanwhile, prep your strawberries and warm up your jelly. Or prep your fruit and make your topping and let it cool.
• 8. Fun part: Arrange whole strawberries. Set one berry, pointed end up, right in the center of the pie and then arrange whole and sliced strawberries on their sides with the pointed ends out around the center strawberry and make nice circles to cover the top of the cheesecake pie. Spoon the melted, slightly warmed jelly over the berries to cover the strawberries and the top of your pie. **Other fruit topping: spoon your fruit filling on top of your pie. Put the cheesecake pie in refrigerator as soon as possible after you add the fruit topping, and you will have to wait at least 2 hours before slicing and eating...this is way better than having to wait till the next day.
• 9. Unfortunately, my sister whipped up the huckleberry topping while I was not watching. So I will have to get back with you on how she did that..and I can not believe I did not take photos...I will, the next time. She did not use any sugar while making this topping.
• 10. **Fruit topping: Add one cup of fruit, 1 cup water, sugar if needed for taste, and cornstarch into sauce pan and heat till boiling and turn down and simmer until fairly thick. Let cool to room temperature, and stir in 1 cup of fruit. And follow step 8.