Easy Strawberry Cheese Pie

 Ingredients

Crust

2 cups finely ground nuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pecans or walnuts 

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

¼ cup) melted butter

1/8 teaspoon salt

Filling

8 oz package of cream cheese, at room temperature

14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk

¼ cup fresh lemon juice 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping 

3 cups chopped fresh strawberries 

1 to 3 tablespoons sugar, to taste

Directions

Select a pie pan whose inside top dimension is at least 9", and whose height is at least 1 1/4".

Butter the pie pan

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Make the crust by stirring together all of the crust ingredients, mixing until thoroughly combined.

Press the crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan, making a thicker layer on the bottom than on the sides.

Bske the nut crust for about 15 minutes until lightly brown.

Cool.

Make the filling by mixing together the filling ingredients until smooth. To avoid beating too much air into the batter, use a mixer set at low-medium speed. To avoid lumps, make sure the cream cheese is softened, and/or at room temperature.

Pour the filling into the prepared and cooled pie pan. Place in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

Make the strawberry topping by heating the strawberries and sugar until the berries are soft and jelly-like. Refrigerate for several hours.

Spread topping over pie filling and serve.