Lemon Pie Ice Cream

Summer's here, which means it's time for ice cream!  Right?  This has become one of my favorite desserts and I've made it, oh, maybe four times already this year, and it's only the beginning of June.   For family dinners, church activities, birthday gifts and just to have around the house, this has been my go-to dessert.  Yep, I'm a big, big fan of this ice cream!  

I love "everything" lemon and lemon pie is high up on that list.  This ice cream is sweet and tart with crunchy bits of graham cracker, and really does taste like a frozen pie.  It's also easy peasy to put together and can of course be made days before you want to serve it, which makes it almost the perfect dessert in my book.  The last time I made this I substituted key lime zest and juice for the lemon.  It did take a little longer to put together, those key limes are so itty bitty, you know, and it took quite a few to yield half a cup of juice.  But it was mighty tasty.  So, go for lemon pie or key lime pie and enjoy!

Remember to zest your lemons first.  It's difficult to zest an already squeezed lemon.  I know this from experience.  The recipe calls for 4 lemons.  I usually buy a bag of lemons so I have enough to make a double recipe. My ice cream maker (which I love) came with two bowls.  When I have room in my freezer, I store them there, so they are ready to go when the ice cream cravings hit.   Also, this microplane zester is one of the most used kitchen tools that I own.

 Pour the half and half into a medium sized bowl.

Juice the lemons.  You'll need half a cup.  If the zest and juice from the lemons don't work out to the exact measurements needed for the recipe, you can freeze any extras for later use.  I freeze extra juice in ice cube trays and they thaw quickly when I need a little for a recipe.  Fresh lemon juice is so much better than anything you buy processed in a jar, so don't throw any away!

Pour the juice and zest into the bowl, along with the can of sweetened condensed milk.  Mix well and then pour into the ice cream maker.  My machine takes about twenty minutes to freeze to a soft serve consistency.

After you start the machine, take your graham crackers and crush them into pieces.  I just do this with my hands in a ziplock bag.  You don't want crumbs, so don't overdo this.

Near the end of the churning time, add the crackers. 

Scoop into a freezer container and freeze for a few hours before serving.  This is an important, although sometimes difficult step.  Who wants to wait?    

Hooray for summer foods!

Lemon Pie Ice Cream

3-4 lemons

2 cups half and half

1 (14oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup coarsely crushed graham crackers

Grate zest from lemons to equal about 1 T.  Cut

lemons in half; squeeze juice from lemons into a

measuring cup to equal 1/2 cup.  Whisk together

half and half, condensed milk and lemon juice. 

Pour mixture into freezer container of an electric 

ice cream maker.  Freeze.  Add cracker crumbs when

ice cream is almost frozen.  Transfer to airtight container.

Freeze at least two hours before serving.

* Recipe source here.