Sopapilla Cheesecake Hand Pies

By BBAUNTIE

A baked version of a sopapilla: a pie crust filled with cheesecake mixture and dipped in cinnamon sugar!

Ingredients

• Ingredients
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened (low-fat is okay)
• 3/4 cup sugar, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 refrigerated pie crusts
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 ” round cookie cutter

Preparation

Step 1

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat cream cheese with a hand mixer until no lumps remain. Mix in 1/4 cup sugar and vanilla.
Unroll pie crusts, one at a time. Cut 2” circles of crust, re-rolling as needed.
Place half the circles on the prepared cookie sheets. Spoon a little bit of the cheesecake mixture into the center. (I found it easiest to transfer the cheesecake mixture to a ziploc bag with the tip cut off, and pipe it on.) Place the remaining pie crust rounds on top of the filled ones. Use the tines of a fork to press and seal each pie.
Bake for 12-14 minutes, until they begin to turn golden. Let cool for just a minute, until you can touch without burning your fingers, but they should still be hot.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a microwave safe dish. In a separate bowl, stir together remaining 1/2 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
Take each still warm pie and brush with butter, then place in the cinnamon sugar and turn over a few times to thoroughly coat. Place on another cookie sheet lined with wax paper to cool.