A Charmed Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie

Hello, friends! This is my inaugural post here at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen and I'm thrilled!

For the next twelve months, I am going to be posting about all things pie (and tart too) and will begin by announcing that the first book in my new Charmed Pie Shoppe Series, Pies and Prejudice, will be released a year from now.

Why is that exciting? Because it gives me a chance to launch a contest. In fact, I'm going to give away pie-related goodies every month, but this month, I'm looking for a pie recipe from one of you foodies to appear in Pies and Prejudice. If yours is picked, you'll appear as a walk-on character and your recipe will be printed in the book. I could really use a creamy pie. I've got one with apples and one with pecans and two savories already and could really use a meringue or a key lime, for example.

The Prize: My heroine, an unwitting enchantress named Ella Mae LeFaye, gets to work from the commercial kitchen in the back of her darling butter-yellow pie shop in the mountains of northwest Georgia. Most of us don't, so I've posted a pic of some of my favorite pie making tools. The recipe winner will get all the items pictured. (Yay!)

This should help you work a little of Ella Mae's "magic" in the kitchen.

And now, onto the Charmed Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie

Ingredients:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

1 (9 inch) store-bought graham cracker crust

2/3 granulated sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup cold water

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried

Directions:

Rinse blueberries and spread out to dry. Pick off any stems (my trusty assistant was assigned this task).

In a small bowl, blend cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. In a second bowl, use hand mixer to beat whipping cream until peaks form. Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture. Spread onto graham cracker crust.

In a large saucepan, combine granulated sugar, cornstarch, water and lemon juice and stir until smooth. Stir in blueberries. Bring to a boil over medium head and cook for

2 minutes or until thickened. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Spread over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until serving.

Garnish with a sprig of mint.