My grandpa used to say, “I only like two kinds of pie: hot and cold.” It’s since become something of a family motto.
But frankly, even with so many yummy kinds of pies, if you add a scoop (or two… or, okay, let’s be honest, you can’t even find your pie under the ice cream) you have an All-American treat worthy of your double workout.
Well, if you really only have an hour to work out today and you are shaking your fist at me for making pie sound so darn good, here’s a recipe that lets you have your pie and ice cream, too.
That’s because the pie filling IS ice cream… Yum!
Grasshopper Ice Box Pie
This is a simple pie made with my favorite flavor ice cream in the whole wide world, but you could easily tweak this to include your own favorite flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 quart of mint chocolate chip ice cream
- 1 ½ cups low fat or fat free graham crackers, pulverized
- 2 tsp dark unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp nonfat, plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp brown sugar (or the Splenda substitute
- Magic Shell chocolate syrup (optional)
- whipped cream (optional)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix together the graham crackers, cocoa powder, yogurt, and brown sugar. Press into a pie pan until you have an even crust. Bake for 5 minutes.
Pop it in the freezer until cool.
Remove your ice cream from the freezer and let it thaw until it is the consistency of soft serve. Because of the slow churn process, this ice cream takes a lot less time to thaw to spreadable consistency than regular ice cream. Spread the ice cream into your crust. It’s up to you how much you want to use. You can pile it up or you can make it even with the top of the crust. I like to pile it up and then take an icing spatula dipped in warm water to smooth it into a nice dome.
If you want, you can decorate the top with whipped cream and Magic Shell chocolate syrup. I like to use little squirts all around to make a cool pattern of peaks and then use the chocolate to draw a grid in between the peaks.
Put the pie back in the freezer until it sets up. To serve, dip a knife in warm water and cut even slices for everyone… yes, you have to share (that’s a note for me… I know you probably have more self control).
For garnish, if you’re feeling extra fancy, squirt some more whipped cream on the plate (just a little bit, mind you) and a fresh mint leaf.
Enjoy!
