Cooks Corner: Pies make cool treat for dessert

Published 3:01 pm Wednesday, April 30, 2008

By Staff
Last week I provided some recipes for refreshing lemonade drinks. As I was scanning through my books, cards and little bits of paper that contain recipes, I ran across some other recipes that had lemonade in the title.
I can remember back to a time when I first heard about lemonade pie. I couldn't imagine how in the world someone would make a pie out of lemonade, but once I got the recipe and tried it myself, I was hooked.
Because of the sweet delight I found in the lemonade pie, I've decided to give some other recipes that use lemonade a try as well.
The first recipe I'm sharing this week is for a lemonade cake. I haven't tried it myself, but I'm sure it's a good one.
Lemonade Cake
1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix
1 (3 ounce) package instant lemon pudding mix
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup water
1 (6 ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1/2 cup white sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour one 10 inch tube pan. Combine the cake mix, lemon pudding mix, eggs, vegetable oil and the cold water. Mix until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Remove from oven and prick cake all over with a fork. Immediately pour lemonade glaze over top of cake. Let cake stand in pan until cool. To make lemonade glaze: Combine the thawed frozen lemonade and the white sugar. Mix thoroughly and pour over still warm cake.
This next recipe is for a lemonade pie. It's not the one that got me hooked. As a matter of fact, this one sounds a little better than the first recipe I ever used.
Icebox Lemonade Pie
1 cup pre-sweetened lemonade drink mix
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
In a large bowl, mix together the lemonade mix with sour cream and condensed milk. Pour mixture into pie crust. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour.
For a lemonade pie that's a little closer to the one I first tried, this next one is right on the mark.
Lemonade Pie
1 (6 ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
In a large bowl, mix together concentrate and sweetened condensed milk. Fold in whipped topping. Pour filling into crust, and chill before serving.
This next recipe is the one that started it all for me. As a matter of fact, you can switch it up by using pink lemonade mix, limeade mix or the regular frozen lemonade mix.
Icebox Lemonade Pie
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
3/4 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
In a blender, combine lemonade concentrate, cream cheese, and condensed milk. Blend on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Transfer mixture to a bowl and fold in whipped topping. Pour mixture into graham cracker crust. Chill before serving. Top with additional whipped topping if desired.
I hope that you'll get a chance to enjoy some of these sweet, tangy pies and cakes. With the warmer months quickly approaching, it's nice to have a cool, easy dessert recipe ready for those last minute gatherings. With the ingredients called for in these recipes, it's even something you could buy ahead and have on hand for those unexpected moments when a pie would be perfect.
I'm seriously looking for some new recipes to pass along to the readers of this column, but I'm running out of resources. If you have some recipes, kitchen ideas or cooking tips you could share, I'd really appreciate it. I'm sure the readers would like some new ideas as well.
If you want to share anything in this space, I promise to give you credit for your fabulous dessert or wonderful ideas. Just drop me a line by email at lisa.tindell@brewtonstandard.com, or you can give me a call at 867-4876. If neither of those methods sounds good, I'd love to meet you. Just drop by the office at 407 St. Nicholas Ave. and pass along your information.
Until next week, happy cooking.