Battle of the Grandmothers' Thanksgiving Desserts {Recipe: Grandma Ruth's Frosty Pumpkin Pie; Includes Recipe for Vanilla Ice Cream}

We decided this year to make each of the kids' grandmothers' favorite Thanksgiving dessert. First up is their paternal grandmother's, Grandma Ruth's, favorite pumpkin pie. Instead of a traditional pumpkin pie, she always makes a ice cream pumpkin pie. As I mentioned in the last post, I am not a fan of traditional pumpkin pie (it's a texture thing), but I love this ice cream pumpkin pie.

The original recipe for this pie is really good, but we are going to update it a bit. The kids wanted to make a Biscoff cookie crust, instead of the graham cracker crust. And, homemade vanilla ice cream lends itself very well to adding the pumpkin base to this pie.

Grandma Ruth's Frosty Pumpkin Pie

This recipe is from a hand written and illustrated cookbook from my mother-in-law, Ruth. It is my most treasured cookbook. Grandma Ruth will be spending Thanksgiving with us; I hope she will enjoy the updated version of her pie (fingers crossed!). 

1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup honey or 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
a dash of ground cloves
1 quart of vanilla ice cream*
1 graham cracker pie crust**

Combine pumpkin, sugar, and spices plus salt. Then add mixture to softened ice cream.  (If you use honey,  you must boil the pumpkin mixture for a second and then cool it before adding to the ice cream.) Pour the combined ingredients into graham cracker crust. Freeze until firm. Decorate with whipped cream, candied or fresh orange rind or pecans. 

*Recipe for homemade vanilla ice cream:

Vanilla Ice Cream

This recipe is from the Cuisinart booklet that came with our Flavor Duo ™Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker. It would work well with any one quart electric ice cream maker. 

3/4 cup milk, well chilled
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 cups heavy cream, well chilled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, to taste*

In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer or a whisk to combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes on low speed. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla to taste. Turn the machine ON, pour the mixture into the freezer bowl of the ice cream maker, and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes. The ice cream will have a soft creamy texture. If desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer until firm, about 2 hours. (Freezing ice cream until firm is what a recipe means if it say to "ripen" ice cream).
*Vanilla bean can be substituted for the vanilla extract. Just add vanilla bean caviar that is scraped out of one whole vanilla been instead of the vanilla extract. 

**Recipe for crust:

Biscoff Cookie Crumb Crust

1 8.8 ounce package Biscoff cookies
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Preheat over to 350°F. Place the Bisc

off cookies, sugar, and salt un a food processor. Pulse until the cookies are finely ground. Then add the melted butter and pulse again to combine. Pour the crust mixture into a pie plate. Press the crumbs down over the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly browned. 

Up next, Grandma Betty's favorite apple crisp recipe.

Happy Thanksgiving Baking!