Strawberries & Cream Pie

I think this is one of the prettiest food items I've made. And it's tasty too. I was skeptical with the amount of cream cheese and sour cream (neither of which is my favorite food item by itself), but this turned out to be a fantastic summer treat.

I actually cheated and didn't use fresh strawberries. I bought a bag of whole, no sugar added, frozen strawberries from the grocery store and just made sure to defrost them before I sliced and used them. I couldn't tell the difference.

• 1 cup (6oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
• 3 tsp shortening, divided
• 1 graham cracker crust (10 inches)
• 1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 carton (8oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 2 cups fresh strawberries, halved
• 1/2 cup seedless strawberry jam

In microwave, melt 3/4 cup chocolate chips and 2 tsp shortening; stir until smooth. Brush over crust. Refrigerate until firm.

In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, sour cream and vanilla until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon into crust. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Arrange strawberries over pie. In microwave, heat jam until melted; brush over the top. Melt remaining chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Drizzle over pie. Refrigerate until chilled.

NOTES: Melting chocolate chips is not as easy as it sounds. As Doug and I found out one Christmas, it is very easy to burn chocolate. The key is to heat in small bursts (30-45 seconds) and stir after each time. If you don't stir, the chips still hold their shape and you will microwave forever trying to get them to "melt," when you are actually burning the chocolate. Also, a dab of vegetable oil helps, even if you realize you already started the burning process.

Serves: 8
Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 20 min + chilling

Recipe from Taste of Home