Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

Thanksgiving is coming up and pumpkin pie is a traditional dessert at most family's tables. In fact, if I don't see a pumpkin pie, I get a little twitchy. I LOVE pumpkin pie.  But I am well aware that not everyone does - for most people it has more to do with texture than flavor. So, here's an idea for a great Thanksgiving (or anytime, really, let's be honest) dessert that I think everyone can be on board with, even if they don't like pumpkin pie.

This pumpkin pie ice cream is perfectly spiced and has just the right amount of pumpkin. But wait, there's more! Atop the ice cream sits beautiful, tiny pieces of pie crust studded with cinnamon and sugar. Can you just see how delicious they are? You certainly have the option of stirring in the pie crust with the ice cream as it churns, but that will (spoiler alert) lead to soggier pieces. I like my pie crust crunchy, so I just sprinkle the pieces on top of each bowl of ice cream. 

I've adapted Jeni's recipe for this ice cream (she calls for cooking a REAL pumpkin, but we'll used canned!) and as usual, it turns out perfectly creamy. The creaminess of the ice cream is a wonderful contrast to the crunchy crust pieces.  Time to get thankful. Time to make pumpkin pie ice cream!

There are more great ideas at Inspire Me, Inspire Me 2, Fabulous, Hearth and Soul, Full Plate, Tasty Tuesday.

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

Ice Cream:

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup honey

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

2 cups whole milk

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. cornstarch

2 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. light corn syrup

Pie Crust:

1/2 of one store bought rolled pie crust, like Pillsbury (1/4 of the package)

1/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. cinnamon

For the ice cream: In a small bowl, whisk together 2 Tbsp. of milk with the cornstarch to make smooth slurry. 

In a large batter bowl or mixing bowl with a cover, whisk cream cheese and salt in a large bowl until smooth. Add pumpkin purée, pumpkin pie spice and honey and whisk until combined.  

Combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar, and corn syrup  in a 4 or 5-quart saucepan, and bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat slightly and boil for 4 minutes.

Give the cornstarch mixture another good whisking, then remove the cream mixture from heat and gradually whisk in cornstarch slurry. Bring mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Gradually whisk hot milk mixture into pumpkin-cream cheese mixture until smooth. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

For the crust, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll out the dough and place on a parchment or silpat lined baking pan. Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Bake at 450 for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool, then cut into small pieces (I used a pizza cutter) and store in an airtight container. 

To freeze the ice cream, pour the batter into the frozen canister of your ice cream maker and churn until it reaches soft serve stage. Pack the ice cream into a freezer-safe storage container, press a sheet of parchment paper directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours and up to a few weeks.

Serve the ice cream topped with pieces of the pie crust. Makes 1 quart.