Years ago one of my favorite summer desserts was Edy's Swiss Orange Sherbet, which was simply orange sherbet with small dark chocolate bits added. It was light, tangy, and refreshing, and the chocolate was the perfect complement to the sweet sherbet. Unfortunately, this flavor no longer seems to be available (although it did show up on this website). I suppose I could just buy plain orange sherbet and stir in some mini chocolate chips. However, I recently found a recipe for an Orange Dreamsicle Pie that I decided could be enhanced by using a chocolate graham cracker crust instead of a plain one, so that the taste would be similar to the frozen dessert from my past. The result is just as tasty as my late lamented sherbet flavor, and is the perfect finale to a summer meal. This recipe is a variation on an old one for Cherry Cream Cheese Pie, and I can't wait to try lemon and lime versions as well!
Orange Dreamsicle Pie with Chocolate Crust
1 1/2 C. chocolate graham cracker crumbs (10 full sheets or rectangles)
6 T. butter, melted
1/3 C. sugar
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1/3 C. orange juice
Orange food coloring*
Combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar and stir until well blended. Dump the mixture into a 9- or 10-inch pie plate and press down with the bottom of a glass measuring cup to form the crust on the bottoms and up the sides of the plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 7-8 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Slowly beat in the sweetened condensed milk at low speed until well combined. Stir in the orange juice and food coloring. Spoon into the graham cracker crust and spread evenly. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours until firm. Serves 8.
*I used liquid food coloring (3 drops of red and 5 drops of yellow). Feel free to omit the food coloring if you prefer a natural color to Day-Glo orange!
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