Good To the Last Bite

Southern Living, Apr 2005 by Harrington, Shirley

Even the grown-ups will want dessert first with these yummy strawberry ice-cream pies.

Enjoying a piece of these do-ahead ice-cream pies is a dreamy experience-from the clever crusts up. Test Kitchens professional Angela Sellers came up with two juicy, fresh strawberry-and-ice-cream concoctions to partner with either a pretzel or waffle-cone crust. We think they're perfect for spring entertaining and are scrumptious to the last crumb.

SPIKED STRAWBERRY-LIME ICE-CREAM PIE

MAKES 10 TO 12 SERVINGS

PREP: 30 MIN., BAKE: 10 MIN., STAND: 30 MIN., FREEZE: 3 HRS.

This pie will soften quickly due to the alcohol content, which lowers the freezing temperature of the ice cream.

4 cups pretzel twists

½ cup butter, melted

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 (½-gallon) container premium strawberry ice cream

1 (16-ounce) container fresh strawberries (1 quart), stemmed

½ cup powdered sugar

1 (6-ounce) can frozen limeade concentrate, partially thawed

½ cup tequila

¼ cup orange liqueur

Garnishes: lime rind curls, fresh whole strawberries, pretzels

PROCESS first 3 ingredients in a food processor until pretzels are finely crushed. Firmly press mixture onto bottom of a lightly greased 10-inch springform pan.

BAKE at 350° for 10 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

LET strawberry ice cream stand at room temperature 20 minutes or until slightly softened.

PROCESS strawberries and powdered sugar in food processor until pureed, stopping to scrape down sides.

PLACE ice cream in a large bowl; cut into large (3-inch) pieces. Fold strawberry mixture, limeade concentrate, tequila, and orange liqueur into ice cream until well blended. Spoon mixture into prepared crust in springform pan. Freeze 3 hours or until firm. Let stand 10 minutes at room temperature before serving. Garnish, if desired.

NOTE: For testing purposes only, we used Blue Bell Ice Cream and Triple Sec orange liqueur.

STRAWBERRY-LIME ICE-CREAM PIE: Omit tequila and orange liqueur, and add 1 (6-ounce) can frozen orange juice concentrate, partially thawed. Proceed with recipe as directed. Let stand 15 minutes at room temperature before serving. Garnish, if desired.

STRAWBERRY SMOOTHIE ICE-CREAM PIE

MAKES 10 TO 12 SERVINGS

PREP: 50 MIN.; BAKE: 10 MIN.; STAND: 35 MIN.; FREEZE: 4 HRS., 30 MIN.

The waffle-cone crust idea came from Cheryl F. Rogers of Kenner, Louisiana.

1 (7-ounce) package waffle cones, broken into pieces

6 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

2 (1-quart) containers premium vanilla ice cream, divided

1 (16-ounce) container fresh

strawberries (1 quart), stemmed

¼ cup powdered sugar, divided

1 pint fresh blueberries

2 ripe bananas

Garnishes: waffle cone pieces, fresh whole strawberries, fresh blueberries

PROCESS first 3 ingredients in a food processor until finely crushed. Firmly press mixture onto bottom of a lightly greased 10-inch springform pan.

BAKE at 350° for 10 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

LET vanilla ice cream stand at room temperature 20 minutes or until slightly softened.

PROCESS strawberries and 2 tablespoons powdered sugar in a food processor until pureed, stopping to scrape down sides; remove strawberry mixture, and set aside.

PROCESS blueberries and 1 tablespoon powdered sugar in food processor until pureed, stopping to scrape down sides; set aside.

MASH bananas with a fork in a large bowl; stir in remaining 1 tablespoon powdered sugar. Set aside.

PLACE 1 quart of ice cream in a large bowl; cut into large (3-inch) pieces. Fold strawberry mixture into ice cream until blended. Place in freezer until slightly firm.

DIVIDE remaining quart of ice cream in half, placing halves in separate bowls. Stir blueberry mixture into half and mashed banana mixture into remaining half. Place bowls in freezer.

SPREAD half of strawberry mixture evenly into prepared crust in spring-form pan. Place pan and remaining strawberry mixture in freezer. Freeze 30 minutes or until strawberry layer in pan is slightly firm. Spread banana mixture evenly over strawberry layer in pan; return pan to freezer, and freeze 30 minutes or until banana layer is slightly firm. Repeat procedure with blueberry mixture. Spread remaining strawberry mixture over blueberry layer in pan, and freeze 3 hours or until all layers are firm. Let pie stand at room temperature 15 minutes before serving. Garnish, if desired.

NOTE: For testing purposes only, we used Hàagen-Dazs ice cream.