It’s been a long time since I first made this pie…
The year was 1998, the day, Halloween. Our families came over to see the kids in their playful attire…Lucy dressed as a scary witch, Chels as Dorothy, and Nick, our little hockey player.
Dom made his famous hot and spicy chili and I, this Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie with(out) Cinnamon Whipped Cream.
It was a nice meal. A really nice meal. And it was the first time I had ever made anything ‘pumpkin’. I wasn’t a huge fan of pumpkin pie…thankfully my taste-buds have evolved since then…but I thought it was about time I dip my big toe in the pumpkin pool and at least try something simple.
So glad I did.
BUT…
I was clearly not so glad that I held on to this delicious recipe…for the life of me, all these years later…I haven’t been able to put my hands on it.
Which brings us to today…I used my memory to serve me as I’ve recreated the pie that got away…
I did a couple things differently… I used Nilla wafers for the crust, and I topped it with cinnamon-y whipped cream. Oh yes – this is happening.
I ‘m very certain I used a store bought graham cracker crust the first time, which of course, is awesome, however, I thought to myself, since I’m recreating this baby from scratch, I might as well go all the way.
To make this homemade crust, it’s really quite simple. Take a box of wafers, grind them in a food processor with a little brown sugar, then, in a separate bowl, add a stick of melted butter, and mix.
Next is where it really gets fun…building your crust. It’s important to have a gentle but firm touch when manipulating the crumbs. It’s kind of like building a sand castle. And then you get to eat it.
Once your crust is ready to go, pop it in the oven for about ten minutes to set. Remove and be sure to cool it before filling with your pumpkin mixture.
The filling consists of vanilla ice cream, pumpkin purée, pumpkin spice, vanilla and cinnamon.
Throw everything together in a bowl. Whisk, whisk, whisk.
Pour into your cooled crust.
Throw it in the freezer, well, don’t throw it – you’ll end up with soft pumpkin ice cream all over the front of you – perhaps I know a little something about this ;)…
Freeze for a few hours until hardened, then top with beautiful soft peaks of homemade whipped cream.
I tell you what…if you’re craving the flavor of pumpkin pie but also have a hankering for ice cream – this dessert is your ticket!
Buon Appetito!
Print
Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie with Cinnamon Whipped Cream
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
- 1 11oz. box Nilla wafers
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
- 3 cups vanilla ice cream
- 1 cup pumpkin purée
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla
- 1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Place wafers and brown sugar in a food processor (or blender) and pulse until a fine crumb forms.
- In a separate bowl mix crumbs with melted butter and with your hands mix until fully combined.
- Form crust in a pie plate.
- Pre-bake crust for 8 – 10 minutes until dry and aromatic.
- Remove from oven and cool completely before proceeding.
- In a large bowl whisk ice cream, purée, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon.
- Pour into prepared crust and freeze for a few hours until hard.
- Just before serving, in a medium sized bowl, whip whipping cream, vanilla, cinnamon and confectioners’ sugar until soft peaks form.
- Top pie with whipped cream.
- Serve.
Ciao!









Hi Ann, I think I will make this for Thanksgiving instead of pumpkin pie. 1.) Because it looks delicious. 2.) Because it’s a great make ahead. 3.) It’s a great way to serve ice cream along with the other Thanksgiving Day pies. Sounds like a winner!
Yessss! You nailed every reason this pumpkin ice cream pie should be on the Thanksgiving dessert table!! Let me know how you like it! Thanks Karen! 🙂
Oh my this looks amazing Annie! I am craving a piece since I just had my lunch and was craving for something sweet and then I saw this! Major drooling! Pinned!
Awww! Thank you Manali! This is a nice little dessert! Thanks for pinning!
Oh my goodness, this looks amazing! I seriously need to start baking with pumpkin!!
I tell you what….this is the simplest pumpkin recipe…a good one to start with!! Thank you!!
Pumpkin pie is a classic favorite and that cinnamon whipped cream sounds amazing!
Thank you Ashley!!
So glad you were able to recreate the pie that got away 😉 I’ve never tried a pumpkin ice cream pie but it looks amazing! I am a sucker for pumpkin and ice cream so this would be a winner at our house for sure 🙂
Haha! Yes…me too! It’s such a yummy treat! Thanks Kelly!
The pie that got away! Too cute. And so sad – I hate when that happens. There is a sugar cookie recipe that I made all the time in high school and I cannot find it for the life of me. This pie looks amazing! Need some pumpkin ice cream in my life!
Oh man..that is no fun! Hahah! Thanks Lindsey!
THE BEST! I would love to be snacking on a slab of this right now.
Why thank you!! Oh yes…a slab of this would hit the spot!!
Stop. This pie looks absolutely dreamy. As in I’m probably going to have a dream about it tonight. Yum!
Hahah! Sweet dreams!! Thanks Kelly! 🙂
This pie is beautiful! I love topping desserts with cinnamon whipped cream – it’s such a simple way to take it over the top. Yum!
Thank you Allison! You are right on! Cinnamon whipped cream takes a dessert from good to great!
What a gorgeous pie! I love trying out different pumpkin pie recipes and this one looks fabulous!! That nilla waffer crust is calling my name!!
Thank you so much, Julia!
I seriously can’t get over the sound of this pie…What better way to top it off than with some CINNAMON whipped cream either?! *dies*
I think there is no better way to top it off! Thanks Tash!! Have a great weekend!
I’ve never tried ice cream pumpkin pie, but now I’m excited to do so! The cinnamon whipped cream sounds amazing!
If you like pumpkin pie, you will love this!! Thanks Mira! Enjoy!
This looks so creamy and delicious! I love pumpkin ice cream and graham cracker crust, so to combine the two makes this heavenly!
It does make it heavenly!! Thanks Marcie!
Wish I had a slice of this pumpkin and ice cream pie to devour right now.. I am just drooling here over the images. Great recipe and I love the flavour combination!
Thank you Thalia…this is a fun one!!
oh I love this!!! This is the first pumpkin ice cream pie I’ve seen .. love that you started with vanilla ice cream . . makes it so easy and efficient! love this!! Pinned and can’t wait to try!! yummm!
Thank you Alice!! And thanks for pinning!
Yum! I saw a pumpkin mousse ice cream pie in a magazine years ago, and have been wanting to make it every since. But then I always make regular pumpkin pie because it’s amazing and my favourite! But I really do need to make that pie, this just reminded me because it looks just as good, maybe better! Yep, definitely better cause there’s cinnamon whipped cream on this one which sounds amazing!
I do think the cinnamon whipped cream (really) is what this pie is all about!! Thanks Stacey!
This ice cream pie looks gorgeous, Annie! I wish I had a piece for breakfast! 🙂 And that cinnamon whipped cream looks like the perfect topping. What a wonderful fall pie!
Why thank you!! I say , Yes(!) to pie for breakfast!! 🙂