Eggnog Ice Cream Pie

This Eggnog Ice Cream Pie is made with homemade ice cream, a gingersnap crust, and rum whipped cream. It's a simple dessert that's perfect for the holidays!

(This recipe for Eggnog Ice Cream Pie was originally posted in November 2012, but was updated with new photos in 2019).

So, it's November 15 and I'm onto my second eggnog recipe for the blog. I can't be held responsible. I 100% blame my husband and my love for him and his love for eggnog.

The thing is, I love him so much that I want to cook and bake all the things that make him happy. Nothing to do with me at all. I mean, what do I want to do with an Eggnog Ice Cream Pie in the freezer? Absolutely nothing.

However, it is a little rude to force him to eat dessert alone, so to be nice, I sat down and had a slice with him. Or two. Maybe more... I can't remember. Just because I'm a kind, loving person. I should get extra points or something for that, right? That's what I thought.

The magical thing about this recipe is that you don't even need any eggnog to make it. You're essentially making your own eggnog and, let me tell you, this ice cream tastes exactly like eggnog. Consider my mind blown.

For the ice cream, I adapted a recipe from Simply Recipes because I wanted to be certain my eggnog ice cream would taste pretty darn close to the real thing. I was quite pleased. I mean, Chris was. Yup, that's exactly what I meant.

EGGNOG ICE CREAM PIE RECIPE

Aside from that homemade eggnog ice cream, the only other components to this ice cream pie are the gingersnap crust. It's funny that just one little cookie crust can take a simple ice cream into a fit for a holiday dinner dessert.

How to Make Eggnog Ice Cream

If you've never made your own ice cream before, eggnog ice cream is a good place to star! I promise it's quite easy and though it takes a little bit of time (mostly waiting for it to chill), it's well worth it.

Start by putting milk and 1 cup of the cream into a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle in cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.

Heat the mixture until it’s just about to come to a boil (but don’t let it actually start boiling), then turn heat to low, cover, and let the mixture sit for about 30 minutes so the spices can seep.

I know. The last thing you want when you're making ice cream is to wait even longer for it to be ready. But this part is essential for the full eggnog flavor.

Pick out the cloves and stir in the sugar until it dissolves.

Whisk egg yolks in a medium heat-proof bowl. Slowly pour about half the warm milk mixture into the bowl with the egg yolks, whisking the entire time (this method will help temper the egg yolks so they don’t start cooking). Now pour this mixture back into the saucepan with remaining milk.

While you're waiting for your mixture to thicken (should take about 10-15 minutes), place a heat-proof bowl with the remaining 1 cup cream over a larger bowl filled with an ice bath.

And once your mixture coats the back of the spoon, strain the heated mixture into the cold cream, stirring constantly.

Put the mixture in the fridge to continue chilling for at least 4 hours. I like to chill mine overnight, so I'll often start the ice cream-making process the night before and finish it in the morning, so my ice cream is ready later that day.

Once chilled, stir in vanilla and rum and process the mixture in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instruction.

Mine took about 20 minutes to thicken up in my ice cream maker (here's an affiliate link to the ice cream maker I own and love).

Then put it the ice cream in airtight containers and freeze again, for 4 hours or more, so the ice cream hardens up.

How to Make Gingersnap Crust

At one of the many waiting periods in your ice cream making process, you can get started on your gingersnap crust. Of course, if you wanted to just make the ice cream and eat it with a spoon out of the container, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that! But a pie is extra fun if you're serving guests. And this gingersnap crust is basically the easiest thing ever.

Start by putting gingersnap cookies in a blender or food processor. And process until you have fine crumbs.

Then, in a medium bowl, combine crumbs, melted butter, sugar, and ginger. Mix together.

Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan.

And bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes until crust is firm. Cool completely.

How to Make Rum Whipped Cream

And when you're almost ready to serve your pie "whip up" your whipped cream. With rum. Obvi. This is a totally optional step and if you're tired and just want to eat this eggnog ice cream pie already, you can totally skip it and buy a can of whipped cream. I won't tell.

But this one is super easy. Just put heavy cream in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer. Whip until it begins thickening and then add sugar, rum, and vanilla. Continue whipping until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Now you're ready to compose your pie. Spread about a quart of the ice cream into your cooled gingersnap crust.  Place back in the fridge for another hour or so.

And then slice and serve with whipped cream on top. And a little bit more nutmeg. Alternatively, you could cover all of the ice cream with whipped cream, but I prefer just a dollop on top.

And thus, another delicious eggnog dessert is born.

Now, I have a weird obsession with making my own ice cream, but I totally understand if you don't or if you don't own an ice cream machine or if you just think this pie just looks like too much work. You can certainly buy egg nog flavored ice cream (or whatever flavor you choose!) and just make the crust and whipped cream.

I mean, I guess you could potentially buy the crust and the whipped cream from the store, too. You could even lie to your guests and pretend you made the entire thing from scratch and you might be able to fool them all...

But I promise you that this ice cream pie will be exponentially times better if you make it from scratch. You'll probably feel pretty good about yourself, too. And since you were on your feet in the kitchen for a couple hours, you likely burned off a good amount of calories.

Which means you can eat an extra slice. I'm all about the justifications.

But really, the best justification is simply making this eggnog ice cream pie for a loved one and not forcing that loved one to eat alone.

Nobody likes to eat alone while you sit and stare at them. Be kind to your loved ones and don't let it happen. Especially during the holiday season.

OK, fine. I admit it. I absolutely loved this eggnog ice cream pie. And to be honest, I'm not generally a fan of whipped cream. But homemade and with rum? That I can deal with.

But it's definitely the nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger spices that made this really come together and feel like the holidays for me. So worth every second it took to make that ice cream!

Do you often make desserts from scratch though you could buy all the components from the grocery store?

If you're looking for more holiday eggnog desserts, check out my Spiked Eggnog Doughnuts and my Eggnog Linzer Cookies. And now I'm really craving these Rum and Eggnog Milkshakes from Whipped It Up!