Joey's Pineapple Cream Cheese Pie

OK, so this recipe sort of happened by accident. I realized at the last minute that March 14th is PIE DAY, (3.14 = Pi!), but I didn't have any pie recipes ready to share. So I did a quick pantry inventory and came up with a new recipe idea! I was gonna do a regular pie crust, but then decided I wanted a shortbread crust instead. And I always have home made jams and jellies on hand, so I figured a pineapple cream cheese pie would be pretty amazing. And guess what! It TOTALLY is! It was seriously easy to throw together, and it's so light and fluffy, it's just the thing to hit the spot.
A perfect pie for pie day! Hope you like it!


Crust:
2 cups flour
2 sticks butter
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Filling:
8oz pkg cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup pineapple jam, homemade or store bought
1-2 tbs sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
1 cup heavy cream, whipped


Heat oven to 425ºF.
For the crust:
Place all crust ingredients into a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse for several seconds until the dough just begins to pull together into a ball. Do not over process. Press dough into a 9" deep dish or pyrex pie plate. Press the dough up the sides and slightly higher than the edge of the plate. Pinch the dough between your fingers all the way around the plate to make a decorative edge. Place a sheet of parchment paper or foil into the plate over the crust, then fill with dry beans or pie weights. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove pie weights and parchment, then place back into the oven for an additional 3-5 minutes or until golden. Cool completely.

For the filling:
Mix cream cheese, pineapple jam, and sugar with a mixer. Fold in whipped cream. Pour cream mixture into cooled crust, smoothing over the top. Chill at least a few hours or until set. Pipe additional sweetened whipped cream on top, if desired.

Tip:
I like a really thick shortbread cookie crust, but if you prefer a thinner crust (or if you're using a regular pie plate instead of a deep dish pie plate, go ahead and cut the crust recipe in half).
For an easy shortcut, just use a ready made store bought graham cracker crust. Bake according to package instructions, then fill as directed.
For an easy variation, use any other kind of jam. Strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, peach, apricot, even orange marmalade would work!