4th of July and tasty treats!

Not much new going on lately…just waiting for the 4th of July next week. We are heading down to Fort Scott to hang out with my parents, brother, and sister-in-law. Unfortunately, it’s supposed to be over 100 degrees and dry so there is a decent chance there will be no fireworks allowed and they won’t shoot off the big display! I am super bummed about this because I have been talking up fireworks to Lola for the past couple of weeks. She was really into them last year – we bought a bunch of things like smoke bombs, sparklers, and other gadgets that light up and spin. We also let her stay up late and watch the big fireworks display. Obviously she is a year older this year and has been looking forward to it even more. Grrrrrrr. Hope it works out. Oh well if it doesn’t!

I’m going to try a new recipe I found on Pinterest. I'm going to make two of these ice cream pies and take down to Fort Scott for everyone to (hopefully) enjoy.   I have been dying to make this, not really sure why…it just sounds so freaking yummy! Plus, I (I mean the girls) got Ryan an ice cream maker for Father’s Day. It was really one of those gifts for all of us – we have been talking about getting one for years now. We have already made some pretty tasty strawberry ice cream and peach sorbet. So back to this recipe, which is below. I will let you know how it turns out! The original recipe called for a store bought graham cracker crust but I have made homemade ones before and they are so easy it’s stupid to buy one. Plus they taste a whole heck of a lot better than store bought.  I put the crust recipe I use into this recipe. 



Blueberry cheesecake ice cream pie

For the crust:
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 5 ounces)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup light brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a food processor, pulse the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter and light brown sugar until the crumbs are moistened. Press the crumbs evenly into a 9-inch glass or metal pie plate. Bake for about 6-8 minutes, just until lightly browned. Let cool. 

For the blueberry sauce:
2 cups (12-16 ounces) fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup (2 ounces) brown sugar
1 lemon, zest and juice


For the ice cream:
1 cup (8 ounces) cream cheese
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 cups (16 ounces) whole milk
1 1/4 (10 ounces) cups heavy cream
2/3 cup (5 1/3 ounces) sugar
1/4 cup (2 ounces) light corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 lemon, zest and juice

Twenty-four hours before making the ice cream, place the bowl of your ice cream maker in the freezer.

The graham cracker crust (if making by hand) and blueberry sauce can either be prepared ahead of time or while the ice cream base is chilling. Both need to be completely cooled to room temperature before assembling the ice cream pie.

For the blueberry sauce, combine the blueberries, brown sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a small pan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until a the berries have released their juices and become syrupy, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir occasionally, but try not to mash up the berries too much. Remove from heat and allow to cool. The syrup can be made up to a week ahead.

To make the ice cream, cut the cream cheese into small pieces and place in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk together the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of the milk in a separate ramekin and set aside.

Bring the remaining milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup, and salt to a boil in a large saucepan and continue boiling for 4 minutes. The milk will double in bulk as it bubbles, so use at least a 4-quart saucepan or larger for this step. If it looks like the milk is going to bubble over the sides, lower the heat just enough so that the milk is still bubbling but no longer threatening to boil over.

Remove the saucepan from heat and whisk in the corn starch mixture. Bring it back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until it just starts to thicken, about 1 minute.

Add the lemon zest to the milk (reserve the juice to add once the milk is chilled; adding it to hot milk can cause curdling). Whisk the hot milk into the cream cheese in several additions, whisking between each addition to melt the cream cheese evenly. Let cool to room temperature, then chill completely in the fridge for at least two hours or overnight.

When the ice cream has chilled, stir in the reserved lemon juice and churn it in your ice cream maker until thick, about 20 minutes (or according to your ice cream maker's instructions). Pour about half the ice cream into the cooled pie crust, filling it right up to the edge. Press a square of parchment to the surface of the pie and freeze at least 4 hours or overnight. (The remaining ice cream can be transferred to a freezer-safe container and frozen for midnight snacking.)

When ready to serve, spoon the cooled blueberry syrup over the pie and slice into wedges. Leftover pie can be frozen with the blueberry sauce on top.