Preheat oven to 400℉
In a small pot over low heat, melt the cream cheese slowly until it is smooth. Remove from heat.
Mix in the powdered sugar until combined
Add food coloring until the desired shade of green is achieved (3-4 drops of gel coloring is what I use)
In a small bowl, whisk 1 egg
Add the egg to the warm cream cheese – stir until creamy. Be sure that the cheese is not hot, as you do not want to egg to cook!
Cut the pie crust into 3″ x 4″ rectangles. You can make larger rectangles if needed based on your cookie cutter size (add more baking time).
tamp 1/2 of the rectangles with a Christmas tree cookie cutter. The crust comes in a circle shape, so it will require extra rolling of the dough to create as many rectangles as possible. Add the extra Christmas tree-shaped dough into the extra pie crust and use the rolling pin to make more hand pies.
Place the top part of the hand pie (with the Christmas tree cutout) over the cheesecake filling
Use a spoon to press around the edges, creating a pretty scalloped look
Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the edges become golden.
As the hand pies cool, add sprinkles to the Christmas trees
Apply a tiny coat of Karyo Syrup to the back of each star sprinkle and then place them on the tops of the trees. The Kayro Syrup dries like glue, keeping the stars in place!