Freezer Lemonade Pie with Gingersnap Crust
Put the freezer to work instead of your oven and cool off with this frosty no-bake dessert! Equal parts creamy and tart, with a can of frozen lemonade imparting a concentrated lemony flavor, this easy pie features a gingersnap cookie crust.
Servings: 8
Equipment
- 9 inch deep dish pie pan, freezer safe
- mixer or food processor
Ingredients
Cookie Crust
- 2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs about 3/4 of a 12 oz. bag
- 6 tablespoons salted butter melted
Pie Filling
- 1 8-oz. pkg cream cheese, softened use full fat for best texture and flavor
- 1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 12-oz. can frozen lemonade concentrate (such as Minute Maid), thawed
- 1 tablespoons grated lemon zest from 2 large lemons, plus more for garnish
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 /2 cup heavy whipping cream
Stabilized Whipped Cream Topping
- 2 oz. cream cheese room temperature
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 ½ cups cold heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional Garnish
- Lemon wedges
- Gingersnap cookie crumbs
Instructions
Make and freeze crust
- Coat a deep dish 9-inch pie plate with nonstick spray.
- Process gingersnaps in a food processor until crumbled, about 30 seconds. Add melted butter and pulse until mixture is combined and can hold its shape when pinched, 10 to 15 pulses.
- Transfer crumb mixture to pie plate; press mixture on bottom and up sides. Transfer to freezer for 20 minutes until firm.
Make filling
- Beat cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
- Add condensed milk and beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Add lemonade concentrate, lemon zest, and salt; beat on low speed until incorporated about 1 minute; set aside.
- Beat 1/2 cup of the heavy cream in a medium bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until medium peaks form, about 2 minutes. Gently fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture.
- Spoon mixture into prepared crust, spreading evenly. Freeze, uncovered, until firm, about 6 - 8 hours or up to overnight.
Make stabilized whipped cream topping:
- Place a metal or glass mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for 15 minutes. Remove the bowl from the freezer. Add the cream cheese and powdered sugar, beat with an electric mixer for 1 minute or until smooth and creamy.
- Add heavy whipping cream and vanilla extract and beat for 4-5 minutes on high speed, or until stiff peaks form.
- Add whipped cream to top of frozen pie with piping bag fitted with a large open star tip or use an offset spatula to top pie with whipped cream. Garnish with lemon wedges and gingersnap cookie crumbs if desired. Return pie to freezer until ready to serve.
To Serve
- Serve this pie straight from the freezer. The sweetened condensed milk in this recipe prevents this pie from freezing hard due to its high sugar content, so even after hours in the freezer this pie stays soft-ish with the edges melting quickly. I like to serve it on chilled plates and forks from the fridge for a refreshing treat on a hot summer day.
Notes
- Alternate crust: Substitute graham crackers, vanilla wafers or sandwich cookies for gingersnap cookies if desired.
- Substitute non-dairy whipped topping for heavy whipping cream if preferred. You'll want to add 1 cup whipped topping to pie filling as whipping cream doubles in volume.
- Optional food processor method: Wipe food processor bowl and blade clean after pulsing cookie crumbs with butter. Add pie filling ingredients to bowl of processor in order as written above and process until mixture is blended and smooth.
- Stabilizing whipped cream helps it hold its shape and prevents it from weeping liquid, which happens when regular whipped cream sits for a while. This is useful for making desserts ahead of time, using it for piping, or when exposed to warm temperatures.
- This pie should be served straight from the freezer. Store leftovers in the freezer, covered, up to 3 days for best flavor.