Peach-blueberry ice cream pie

I know this is rather out of season, but I was going through my recipe book, and this one was too yummy not to post here.

This stuff is just heavenly. Sweet and a little spicy, it is the perfect treat to pull out of the freezer on a hot summer day. Or, if you just gotta have some ice cream whenever… Maybe fireside in the winter, so you don't freeze?!

This is one of those do-ahead desserts. It's easy prep-work; most of the time it takes to make this is just waiting for things to cool and freeze.

If you can find TruWhip, you can sub-it in for the fresh whipped cream. It is more stable and lower calories/fat. It's a non-dairy whipped topping that doesn't use nasty hydrogenated oils that most other nondairy whipped toppings do (like CoolWhip). It does contain a tiny bit of sodium caseinate (a milk protein), so it's not entirely vegan, but apart from that it is a great "nearly vegan" tasty topping.

I made this gluten-free by using Mi-Del gluten-free gingersnaps, but you could use any kind of good gingersnaps.

ALSO, if you chop up some extra crystallized ginger and mix it into the ice cream, you'll get an even more yummy pie.

This pie makes 8 servings.

It can be made up to 2 days ahead.

TMP ADAPTED, FROM ORIGINAL RECIPE BY Sweet Rose Creamery In Santa Monica, California

Printable recipe

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces Mi-Del gluten-free gingersnap cookies
• 2 tablespoons softened Earth Balance or coconut oil, melted (or use any non-hydrogenated, vegan margarine)
• 1 tablespoon So-Delicious French Vanilla Coconut Milk Non-dairy Creamer
• 2 cups fresh blueberries, divided
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 pint peach ice cream, softened in refrigerator for 20 minutes*
• 2 cups TruWhip All-natural whipped topping
• ¼ cup + 2 tbsp chopped crystallized ginger

*Originally I used Alden’s organic peach ice cream (so good!), but if I want to make this dairy-free, I would substitute this for coconut milk ice cream, and mix in about ¼-⅓ cup of pureed peaches (or more or less, depending on how peachy you want it, I guess! Too much though would change the texture of the ice cream and make the pie too hard when it re-freezes). One little snack cup of peaches in juice could be an easy way to do this.

Here's how to assemble this ridiculously yummy pie:

First, grind up the cookies in a food processor until you get a fine crumb without any big chunks. You should have about 1-⅓ cups of ground up cookies when you’re done.

Put the cookie crumbs into a medium-sized bowl, and add the margarine and creamer. Mix well. Press the mixture firmly onto the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie dish. Then pop it in the freezer for about 30 minutes, so it can firm up.

Toss 1-3/4 cups of the blueberries plus sugar and lemon juice in another bowl, and set this aside for about an hour at room temperature, for the flavors to marry.

Next, transfer the blueberry mixture to a heavy-bottomed pot, and cook on medium heat, for about 10-15 minutes. This will soften the berries and release their juices. 

Strain the berries through a fine-mesh strainer, over a medium bowl. Reserve the berries and juice in separate bowls, cover, and chill.

When everything is nice and cold: In a bowl, gently fold the blueberries into the softened ice cream. This is also where you can mix in a couple tablespoons of the crystallized ginger, if you want. Spread the ice cream into the crust, and smooth out the top. Next, spread the whipped topping evenly over the top, and then sprinkle with the remaining blueberries and crystallized ginger. 

The reserved blueberry juice is meant to be drizzled over the pie when you serve it, but this is optional. 

Finally, put the the pie back into the freezer to firm up, about 6 hours or overnight. (You'll want to put the pie into something that you can cover it in a way that won't smush the top.)

Just before you're ready to serve it, put the pie in the refrigerator for 10-15 min, or until it has softened just enough to slice. At this time, you might want to cut the whole pie, and make it a little easier to get out single servings (so you don't have to soften the whole pie next time you want a piece!).