I would have to say that Ice Cream Pies are my favorite summer dessert. How can that be? Better than Strawberry Shortcake? Peach Crisp? Blackberry Cobbler? Not that I don’t love all of those and devour them frequently, but there is something special about an ice cream pie on a hot summer’s night. Just kind of puts the world back in proper order if you know what I mean. Here’s one of my favorites: chocolate cookie crust, layers of cookies & cream ice cream, with fresh strawberries and plenty of chocolate sauce hiding in the center. Top the whole thing off with a fresh strawberry sauce, and get ready for fireworks.
Let’s start with the crust which will take all of 5 minutes to make. Grab a package of Oreos or your other favorite cookie, melt some butter, and push most of them into a springform pan. You can also use a deep dish pie pan if you like, but the springform pan makes it a breeze to cut and serve. Just so you know. Save some crumbs for later – they will be our pie topper and hide any creative mistakes we have made in ice cream swirling.
Pop the crust into the oven for 10 minutes and get going on your strawberries. Slice some of the best ones lengthwise for the inside berry surprise. The rest go into a pot to be quickly cooked down with some sugar for the sauce.
The pie crust needs about 15 minutes to cool after coming out of the oven, which is the perfect time to get two ice cream containers out of the refrigerator to begin softening. This is an important step for your sanity. If the ice cream will not be soft enough to cooperate, you will have to use all of your upper body strength to wrestle it out of the containers and do quite a lot of cussing. Speaking from experience, of course. I just use an ice cream scoop, and start going around in circles until the entire crust is covered. Then use a wooden spoon or firm spatula type implement to smooth it down the best you can.
Now it’s time for the surprise filling. Grab those strawberries you sliced and lay them lengthwise in a circle around the outside of the pan…
Then as gently as possible, add another layer of ice cream on top of them. Undoubtedly your berries will fall over, but it will still be beautiful. Nothing to sweat over – I promise. When you’ve got the berries covered, pour in as much of your favorite chocolate sauce as you like into the center. See where we’re going with this?
Top the chocolate sauce off with the remaining ice cream, and once again, do your best to smooth it over. Some of the chocolate sauce may escape, but this is not a problem because we were very smart and reserved some crumbs earlier just in case we experienced this situation. See? Problem solved. Now for the hard part: He goes into the freezer for at least two hours so he can set up properly.
You’ve been so patient. Now it’s time to get this thing cut and dig in. Be sure to use a very thin bladed knife. Run it under super hot water between slices and it will make the whole slicing experience go much smoother. You can serve it right out of the freezer as is…
Or add a nice big spoonful of strawberry topping.
Hope you enjoy. Have a wonderful day!! xoxoxo
Ice Cream Pie with Strawberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1, 14- ounce package of Oreos or other favorite chocolate cookie
- 4 tablespoons butter melted
- Approximately 4 pounds of strawberries
- 2-4 tablespoons sugar
- (Optional: 1-2 tablespoons dissolved in cold water. This should be added to your berry mixture if your berries do not thicken(
- 2, 1.75 quart containers of Cookies & Cream Ice Cream
- ½ - 1 cup of your favorite chocolate sauce
Instructions
- For the crust: pulse the cookies in a food processor until fine crumbs form. If you don’t have a food processor, just put cookies in a Ziplock bag and bash them with a rolling pin until you get the same result.
- Add melted butter to crumbs and mix until blended.
- Line a springform pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
- Place 2 cups of the cookie crumb mixture into the pan and press down evenly so entire bottom is covered.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, or until fragrant. Remove from oven and set aside to cool for about 15 minutes.
- For the strawberries: Wash and trim tops off berries. Choose about 2 cups of the best berries, and slice lengthwise into about ¼ inch slices. Set aside.
- Slice the remaining berries and put them into a medium sized pot. Add about 2 tablespoons of sugar and cook over medium heat until bubbling and softened. NOTE: you may need to add a cornstarch 'slurry' to the berries to thicken. See note above under Ingredients tab. Taste for sweetness and adjust as needed. Set aside – this will be the sauce you pour over the pie right before serving.
- To assemble the pie: Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, arrange an approximate 1 inch layer of ice cream over the cookie crust. Place the strawberries, narrow side down, in a ring around the outside of the pan. Cover strawberries as gently as you can with a layer of ice cream.
- Pour about ½ cup (or more if you like) of your favorite chocolate sauce in the center of the berry ring.
- Cover with remaining ice cream and smooth out as best as you can. If you have any left over ice cream, just keep piling it on to the top of the pie.
- Sprinkle reserved cookie crumbs on top of pie and refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.