When it’s too hot to stand or move, it’s definitely too hot to bake. So the past week was a perfect opportunity to explore yet another category of pie, the Icebox (or Freezer) Pie.
All of these pies don’t require any baking except for the crust and even that is optional. Most call for press in crusts made from cookie crumbs so if you absolutely can’t bear the idea of turning on the oven for even 10 minutes use can just pour the filling into an unbaked graham cracker or chocolate wafer crumb crust. Often the fillings feature instant pudding mix, cool whip and frozen drink concentrates. I tried to go in another direction.
Personally I like the crunch of a baked press in crust so I bit the bullet and baked mine. For this pie I used graham crackers. I prefer to make my own crumbs so that I can may them more coarse than the ready bought crumbs. It gives the crust more texture. I also added some dukka that I had lying around. Dukka is a middle-eastern spice mixture that usually includes some kind of nuts and seeds. Mine had peanuts and sesame as well as salt and cumin. I thought the salty savory taste of the dukka would offset the sweet richness of the filling.
There is a lot of variation in how fillings are made for Icebox or Freezer Pies. This filling was made from peanut butter, cream cheese, and sweetened condensed milk. I was skeptical, but I have to say that the texture was delicious, nearly like a super smooth ice cream. And the light saltiness of the crust was a perfect foil for the sweet, rich filling. I took the pie to a Labor Day party and people fell on it like flies.