Lemon Ice Cream Pie

This recipe was first shared by my friend Lynn who loves desserts and is not ashamed to say so. If she says it's good, IT'S GOOD!

I made a few minor changes, rearranged her directions and inserted my own crust recipe, so to make things simple I'm posting my version. The end result is basically the same though, so feel free to hop on over to her post...even if it's just for her "male refrigerator blindness" comment.

I doubled the recipe for a 9x13 since we were having guests. It was good I did too because you need to use a metal pan (and I don't have a metal pie plate--only glass). Thinking ahead...I hear it's a good thing. :-P

This is a great recipe for a "make-ahead-dessert" (don't let the long directions fool ya--it's really not that laborous). If you start around 9 in the morning, you can complete all the steps by bedtime, let it freeze overnight, and have it ready to serve the next day. I've inserted extra space in between the steps where it's hanging out in the freezer.

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Lemon Ice Cream Pie (9x13 recipe version)

CRUST:
3 c. finely ground graham cracker crumbs
(I used 1 sleeve of graham crackers + 24 GingerSnap cookies--just because)
1-1/2 sticks butter, melted
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
(I omitted this because of the GingerSnaps)
LAYERS:
1.5 quart container BREYER'S All Natural "Natural Vanilla" ice cream
1 stick + 2 Tbsp. butter
4 lemons, (at room temp. will yield 4 tsp. zest and 2/3 c. juice)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. + 1 c. white sugar, divided
4 whole eggs + 4 eggs, yolks and whites separated

DIRECTIONS:
1. Sit ice cream container on counter to soften and preheat oven to 375.
2. Crush cookies into finely ground crumbs, mix with 1- 1/2 sticks melted butter (and cinnamon if using) and press firmly into 9 x 13" metal cake pan. Bake for 7 minutes. (No longer!)
3. After crust has cooled for 5-10 minutes, spoon ice cream into pan gently and evenly spread over crust. Cover and put in freezer for a few hours (about 3) until ice cream layer is completely frozen.
4. As that is hanging out in the freezer, melt the stick + 2 Tbsp. butter in a saucepan over medium heat while zesting the lemons/squeezing the juice into a separate medium-sized bowl. Add the zest, juice, salt and sugar to the butter. Rinse the bowl you used for the lemons, and use it to whisk 4 whole eggs and the yolks of the other 4 eggs together. Add a few spoonfuls of the butter mixture to the eggs, then very gradually add the egg mixture to the butter mixture, stirring continuously. (This will ensure that your eggs won't cook when you add them to the hot butter mixture.) Cook for 10 minutes on MED. heat, stirring often, until it has thickened to the consistency of Greek yogurt . Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until completely cooled.



5. Spread lemony layer over ice cream layer and put pan back in the freezer for at least 4 hours (maybe longer) until completely hardened.



6. Preheat oven to 475. Beat 4 reserved egg whites until foamy, then slowly add the remaining 1 c. of sugar while mixer is still on high speed. When stiff peaks form spread on top of lemon layer, gently pushing the merigue down so no air bubbles remain between layers. (It's okay if the top is not smooth--the bumps and ridges are pretty when "toasted".) Bake for 4 minutes, promptly remove from oven, cover and stick in freezer right away. Freeze overnight and let sit on the counter 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!