Patti’s Pink Lemonade Ice Cream Pies

October is just about over – and it’s been full of apples and pumpkins and and football – oh my!

But besides the peak month of fall, October is very important for another reason – it’s Breast Cancer Awareness month.  Sadly, I bet a good number of us out there know someone somewhere who is living with, has conquered, or worse yet has lost their battle with this devastating disease that affects not only the person experiencing it, but their family and friends as well.

And unfortunately enough, it’s hit very close to home to us recently.  Back in 2003, my Aunt Patti was diagnosed with breast cancer – and man did she kick it’s ass! By 2008, she was five-years cancer free and it was a thing of the past, never to show it’s ugly face again.  Until this August, when some strange symptoms lead to the discovery that not only was it back, but it had metastasized to her liver.  WTF cancer – I thought we made it clear you’re not welcome here b’otch! And while I wish that Breast Cancer was the ugly, long nailed wench with stiletto heels that I envision it being, and I could just put it on a one-way flight to Antartica, unfortunately it’s not the case.

The Murphy’s, sans pooches

Patti is wife to my amazing Uncle Kevin, and mother to my 3 beautiful cousins, Beth, Catilyn and Krissy, 2 sweet pooches, Maggie & Beau.  Our families have always been close – growing up as an only child, Beth, Caitlyn & Krissy were the sisters I never had and still to this day, we have this amazing capability to pick right up where we left off, no matter how much time has passed, and act as silly and stupid as we did when we were 8.  Patty & Kevin and the girls moved down South when we were still pretty young, so during the summer months, we would reunite on Cape Cod, making up for lost time by riding bikes, going to the beach, and spending as much time together as possible.  In college, I spent one of the funnest summer’s of my life living with them at their Cape House, and this coming June, it will be the backdrop for my cousin Beth’s wedding, which cannot come soon enough!  In the mean time, they’re taking things one day at a time, thinking happy thoughts, and even blogging about Patti’s daily progress which is a great idea to keep everyone informed. They even came out with a special Pink Patti Murphy Breast Cancer Awareness bracelet which are already flying off the shelves!

The Murphy’s are amazing cooks (Beth even went to cooking school – now that’s legit) and one dessert that reminds me of them and the Cape, is their lemonade ice cream pie – the simplest of concoctions that on a hot summer day is better than any ice cream cone you could buy.  So while it’s fall, and the bathing suits have officially been swapped out for sweaters, today’s recipe is a summer throwback – that’s pink for Patti 🙂

Mini Pink Lemonade Ice-Cream Pies
*Adapted from Betty Crocker

INGREDIENTS
*yields about 12 mini-pies, with ice cream left over

10 graham cracker sheets, crushed into crumbs
(I used the food processor to get a fine crumb)

2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

3 tbsp. sugar

4 cups vanilla ice cream or yogurt

1 – 8oz tub of whipped topping
(I used fat-free)

4-6 individual Crystal Light Pink Lemonade packets
(depending on how ‘lemonade’ey’ you want it to be)

*red food coloring
(this is optional, in case the crystal light doesn’t give you the desired level of ‘pink’ coloring that you desire)

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) In a large mixing bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar together until well combined.

3) Using a 12-muffin tin, take about 1/4 cup of the graham cracker mixture and press in bottom and up the sides of each muffin slot.

4)  Bake for 8-10 minutes until the crusts are golden brown.  You’ll notice that the crust may rise a bit while baking.  You can actually push it back down with your fingers so that it doesn’t take away space for the ice-cream mixture.

5) Once the crusts have cooled, fill each one with the pink lemonade ice cream mixture (you’ll definitely have some left over).  If you’d like, you can sprinkle the tops with graham cracker crumbs or sprinkles, depending on if you like a little texture or not.

6) Let sit in the freezer for 3-4 hours until the ice cream has completely set.

7) Remove muffin tin from the freezer and let the pies sit for about 5 minutes.  After 5 minutes, you can stick a knife in to pop them out.

These are amazingly cute, pink and delicious! Something about the taste of lemonade always brings me right back to summer.

So to everyone out there who is battling the Breast Cancer, you’re in the thoughts and prayers of people all over the world, not only this month, but always.

And to Patti, Kevin, Beth, Caitlyn, Krissy, Beau and Maggie, I’m thinking of you guys everyday and very much looking forward to June, when that ugly wench is far, far away, and we’re all together at the Cape, celebrating nothing but happy times with Lemonade Ice Cream Pie 🙂