Raspberry Lemonade Pie

Summer festivities (or just a backyard BBQ) call for a cold, refreshing lemonade. This recipe takes the summertime favorite and gives it a twist!

The recipe begins with a basic crushed wafer crust and adds mint leaves for a refreshing kick. My local store didn't have any fresh leaves so I left them out.

The pie is flavored with lemonade concentrate and has a tartness that the raspberry sweetness really compliments. The pie got rave reviews from adults and kids on the steamy 4th of July day I served it.

The recipe, from Cuisine magazine, is easy and can be mixed up with other citrus and fruit combinations.

Raspberry Lemonade Pie

For the Crust:
9 oz. vanilla wafers
1/4 c. packed mint leaves (I didn't include the mint)
6 tbsp. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375. Coat 9" springform pan with non-stick spray.

Place vanilla wafers and mint in a food processor and pulse until fine. Drizzle melted butter into running processor and process until mixture begins to stick together. Remove from processor and press into spring form pan, about 3/4 way up the sides. I used a small silicone spatula to press the crumbs. Cook for about 8 - 10 minutes or until just starting to turn golden. Allow to cool completely.


For the raspberry sauce:
12 oz. fresh raspberries (I used frozen as they were cheaper)
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. water
2. tsp. corn starch


For the filling:

2 c. heavy cream
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
12 oz can of frozen citrus concentrate (decrease amount used to decrease tartness)

Puree raspberries in a food processor with sugar. Strain out seeds with a fine mesh sieve. Put mixture in a pan over medium/high heat until boiling. Combine corn starch and water to make a slurry. Add slurry to raspberry mixture and allow to boil for 1 minute. Transfer to dish and chill.

Beat cream, sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until stiff peaks form. In a separate bowl, mix sweetened condensed milk with lemonade concentrated until just combined- do not over-mix.. Fold in whipped cream mixture. Pour into cooled crust. Drizzle about 1/4 cup of the cooled raspberry mixture over the top of the pie. With a skewer, gently swirl the sauce to marble. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze at least 8 hours..

When you are ready to serve, thaw pie in refrigerator for 15-20 minutes. Unmold and serve!

Note: this pie does melt quickly! Thaw only as much as necessary to cut it.

Cream Cheese Swirled Pumpkin Pie

I adore pumpkin pie. I like it plain, no whipped cream. It's perfect just the way it is.

I also really like the Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake that I make, so this pumpkin pie with cream cheese was a no-brainer. We had the leftovers (not that much was left over) for breakfast... Mmmm...

The recipe came from the Hy-Vee Seasons magazine- a free quarterly magazine they give out at the registers.

All you need:
12 ounces Hy-Vee cream cheese, softened
1 c. Hy-Vee sugar
3 tbsp Hy-Vee flour
1 (15 oz) can Hy-Vee pumpkin
3 Hy-Vee large eggs
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 frozen Hy-Vee deep-dish pie crust, unthawed
1 tbsp Hy-Vee skim milk

All you do:

1. Beat cream cheese, sugar and flour together on low speed until smooth; reserve 1/2 cup cream cheese mixture for later use.
2. Add pumpkin, eggs and pumpkin pie spice to cream cheese mixture; beat on medium speed until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Pour into frozen deep-dish pie crust.
3. In a small bowl, stir milk into reserved cream cheese mixture. Microwave on HIGH 20 to 30 seconds or until slightly softened and creamy. Spoon over pie filling and swirl in S-shaped curves with knife.
4. Bake at 375ºF for 60 to 65 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean. Cool completely and refrigerate before serving.