Sour Cream and Lemon Pie with Chocolate Cookie Crumble

Sour Cream and Lemon Pie with Chocolate Cookie Crumble

garnished with fresh mint 

I am the first to admit that I am a little dessert crazy right now... no one in my house seems to be complaining so I plan to keep it up as long as I continue to fit into my jeans! This recipe is the 3rd in a series of favorite gluten-free lemon desserts... and I am likely to post more in the coming weeks as summer is the perfect time to celebrate the existence of the lemon! 

I served these in spoons as I was hosting a party.
This recipe is versatile enough that it can
be presented as one whole pie, in tartlet cups,
in martini glasses or in a spoon! 

Here are some of my favorite facts about lemons: 

(It is always good to have these facts on hand when justifying to oneself why one should eat more dessert...)

Lemons are a digestive aid (the Italians have it right with the limoncello after dinner!)

Lemons can help cleanse your liver (for all the limoncello you are drinking!)

Lemons can help boost your immune system (ooh! Health!)

Lemons can help keep you regular (yay!)

Lemons can help neutralize free radicals (that is a good thing, by the way)

AND.... Lemons destroy intestinal worms...you know, in case that is something you struggle with...  

So here is what you need in order to make this delicious dessert that will absolutely improve your overall health: 

Ingredients: 

3 egg yolks

Juice and zest of 3 lemons (about 1/2 cup) 

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter 

4 tbsp cornstarch

1 cup milk 

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cream cheese or mascarpone - softened

Method: 

Put all ingredients except for the sour cream and cream cheese in a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir the ingredients until it thickens up quite a bit. If you are like me, you may have to pause to pick out a few lemon seeds that seemed to sneak in, despite my best efforts. Do not let the mixture come to a boil and be sure to keep on stirring! 

Once your lemon curd is a nice texture (the longer you cook it, the denser the pie will be), pour the curd into a glass bowl and let it cool in the fridge for at least 1 hour. 

Once the curd has thickened and chilled, fold in the sour cream and cream cheese. 

If you are making a traditional pie, pour the filling into an already made crust (see bottom of the page for an easy GF crust recipe!) immediately. For our get-together today, I was feeling fancy and chose to make dainty desserts. I put the filling into the spoons first and then topped it with crumbled GF chocolate chip cookies and fresh mint.

Alternate presentation idea

Don't get me wrong, I love huge, gooey, sticky sweet portions of dessert too, but sometimes it is fun to play around with presentation. You can achieve this classic presentation by crumbling some of the cookie in the bottom of the glass first, then add the pie filling and then top with more cookie crumble and mint. If you have taller glasses, you could easily layer cookie and pie filling in order to achieve more of a trifle effect. 

ENJOY!!!!!!!! 

Easy GF pie crust

I have made this crust at least 5 times and it has come out well every time. I will be sure to upload a photo the next time I make it!  I like to add the cinnamon when I am making cheesecake using this crust.... 

Ingredients: 

2 cups GF graham crackers, smashed

1/2 cup butter, melted 

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon sea salt 

1 tsp cinnamon (optional) 

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Press the mixture into a 9 inch pie plate and make sure that you achieve an even texture all the way around. You can choose to build up the sides or to make a slightly thicker crust by keeping it all on the bottom of the plate. Bake for 7-10 minutes at 375F. Make sure not to let the edges brown too much! 

“We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons.” –Alfred E. Newman