Blueberry Swirl Ice Cream Pie with Hazelnut Crust Recipe

For our family, summertime is filled with camping trips, bike rides and lazy afternoons at the pool. Well, the “lazy” part refers to me, as I lounge in the shade or beach myself in the shallow end of the kiddie pool, occasionally throwing the football to my kids. The boys, on the other hand, are in constant motion – running to the diving board (“Don’t run by the pool!”), doing flips off of the low board (“Oh my goodness, watch your head!”) and having enthusiastic water fights in the kiddie area (“Watch out for the little ones!”) Okay, maybe I’m not as relaxed as I like to think. Whatever outdoor activity we are doing, we are always ready to cool off with a frozen dessert. That’s where this Blueberry Swirl Ice Cream Pie comes into play.

When the first blueberries arrive at the market, my kids beg me to buy a boat load of them. We typically eat half of the fresh ones and freeze the other half for blueberry syrups and waffles in the wintertime. The simple blueberry compote is made with fresh fruit, though frozen berries could be used as well. The toasted flavor of the graham cracker and hazelnut crust pairs very well with the sweet fruit and creamy ice cream. It is easy to put together and a welcome treat after a long day in the sun.

If your family spends as much time playing outside as my family does in the summer, be sure to check out this fun contest from the people at the Blueberry Council. From June 27 to July 26, the Blueberry Council is inviting you to upload or tweet photos of yourselves (or your family and friends) doing something playful or adventurous fueled by the flavor of blueberries.

Each week, the Blueberry Council will select the two best entries and award $100 gift cards to the winners. At the end of the contest, the person with the most energetic and creative entry will receive a $2500 grand prize. Head to their Facebook page to find out how to enter.

The recipe:

The crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine graham crackers and chopped hazelnuts. Pulse until the graham crackers are fine crumbs. Add melted butter and pulse again until the mixture starts to hold together.

Coat a 9-inch pie dish with cooking spray. Press the graham cracker mixture on the bottom and up the sides of the dish. Bake until the crust is set and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cool completely.

Blueberry compote:
In a medium saucepan, combine blueberries, sugar, water and lemon juice.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the blueberries start to pop, about 10 minutes. Cool completely.

The rest:
Gently spread 1 pint softened vanilla ice cream into the bottom of the crust. Spread half of the blueberry mixture over the ice cream. Place in the freezer until the blueberry mixture is set, about 30 minutes. Spread remaining ice cream over the blueberry layer.

Place dollops of the blueberry mixture on the ice cream and swirl with a large skewer. Place in the freezer and let set completely, at least 2 hours.

Remove the pie from the freezer and let sit at room temperature until slightly softened, about 10 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve.

Other ice cream pie recipes:

Love & Olive Oil’s Mud Pie with Homemade Decaf Coffee Ice Cream
Barbara Bakes’ Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Pie
The Way the Cookie Crumbles’ Strawberry Chocolate Ice Cream Pie
Dessert for Two’s Blackberry Ice Cream Pie

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by the Blueberry Council. I use fresh and frozen blueberries in my cooking throughout the year and am happy to highlight them here.