Remember last week when I was talking about how I kind of kept forgetting it was spring? Yeah, I’m over that. My car thermometer said 94 degrees yesterday and the fact that I was wearing pants was making me feel all stabby. Apparently summer is here (at least in the South; is it super hot everywhere else?) and I’m (clearly) trying really hard to have a good attitude about it. Note sarcasm.
The good news? Frozen treats make me feel better about the world. The bad news? My freezer is currently overrun by little Frozen Lemonade Pies. Fortunately, that is not the worst bad news I’ve ever gotten in my life.
This is one of my favorite favorite favorite treats of all time, but I’ve always been a little hesitant to post it because it’s so dang easy. Not that we’re not all about easy, but we’re talking easy enough that a really smart monkey could make it. But maybe when I’m feeling grumpy because I’m legally required to wear pants, I need super-smart-monkey frozen treats.
Growing up, we always made this pie in a store-bought graham cracker crust (and that’s still totally an option; you could also use the small graham cracker tart crusts). I wanted to adorable-ize (TOTALLY a word) things just a little, so I decided to make these in the squatty little Mason jars, kind of like a summery version of Pie in a Jar. You can use 8 8-ounce jars with the straight sides (like we do in Pie in a Jar), but I actually found myself wanting a more dainty portion and wished I had 16 of the 4-ounce jars on hand that weren’t covered in Mod Podge and tissue paper. Don’t ask.
For the crust, you’ll need 1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs, 1/3 cup sugar, and 6 tablespoons of butter.
Combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a small bowl. Melt the butter and then drizzle it over the crumbs…
Toss together the ingredients, wither with a fork or with your fingers. Then evenly distribute the crumb mixture into the jars. If you’re using 8 ounce jars, you’ll need about 3 heaping tablespoons per jar. For 4 ounce jars, use closer to 2 level tablespoons per jar. Lightly press the crumbs onto the bottom and up the sides of the jar.
Keep in mind that these are going in the freezer and will solidify a lot. Also keep in mind that graham cracker crust that is hard to eat will only lead to heartache and sorrow, and since we don’t want to be the cause of any kind of heartache, don’t press the crust in too firmly.
Set your jars aside.
For the filling, you’ll need 12 ounces (so 1 1/2 of the smaller containers) of thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, a 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk, and 8 ounces of thawed lemonade concentrate (you’re not gonna use the whole can…mix the rest of it with water for, well, lemonade). I use pink lemonade because that is how I roll. You also might want to have a lemon on hand–if the mixture is a little too sweet for your taste, you can add a tablespoon or two of lemon juice to kick things up a notch.
In a large bowl, gently fold together the COOL WHIP and add the sweetened condensed milk. Add the lemonade concentrate (thawed but still cold) and continue folding until combined.
If you want, you can add a little food coloring–I added 4 drops of red food coloring and a drop of yellow, not that you’ll be able to tell in the pictures.
Divide the filling evenly among the prepared jars…
and freeze for at least 4 hours or until firm. When ready to serve, remove from the freezer and allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving.
So easy, right?! Now that we’re moving into wedding season, these would be perfect little make-ahead desserts for a bridal shower (and baby showers, although, as I have discovered, there’s not really such thing as baby season–they seem to happen all year long). They would also be perfect for Mother’s Day; not saying that there aren’t men or children who feel completely at home in the kitchen on Mother’s Day, but my man is not one of them. Bless his heart. NOTE TO MY HUSBAND, SHOULD HE BE READING THIS: I want pie for Mother’s Day. And I don’t want to do the dishes afterwards.
Just to make things super easy, these pies should have little attachable notes, right?
Print these out, buy some cute ribbon, punch a hole in the corner, tie it onto the jar, and you have a happy mom.
For the Mother’s Day Printable, click HERE.
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Frozen Lemonade Pie in a Jar {and Mother’s Day Printable!}
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Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs*
1/3 cup sugar*
6 tablespoons melted butter*
12 ounces (1 1/2 small containers) of COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
8 ounces thawed (but still cold) lemonade concentrate
Optional: 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Optional: 4 drops red food coloring and 1 drop yellow food coloring
8 8-ounce Mason jars or 16 4-ounce Mason jars (the short, squatty ones)
*If desired, you can use a prepared graham cracker crust or several of the small prepared graham cracker tart crusts.
Instructions:
In a small bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Add the melted butter and toss with a fork or your fingers to combine. If using 8-ounce jars, lightly press 3 heaping tablespoons of the graham cracker mixture onto the bottom and up the sides of each jar. If using 4-ounce jars, use 2 level tablespoons. Set the jars aside.
In a large bowl, gently fold together the COOL WHIP and sweetened condensed milk. Add the lemonade concentrate. If desired, add the lemon juice and food coloring. Evenly distribute the filling among the jars. Cover and freeze for at least 4 hours. When ready to serve, allow to stand for 5 minutes.
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Questions & Reviews
Love love LOVE this idea! I’m off to find some jars and see how many different kinds of pies in jars I can make! 🙂 Thanks for being awesome . . .
We make this (only we call it ‘Pink Lemonade Dessert’ and reserve some of the crumb mixture to sprinkle on top for garnish) in my family and it is really the only justification for Cool Whip I’ve found. A little food snobby, but not really since I DO use/love it in this recipe, right? Memories of summer – 4th of July at ‘the lake’, sweet and tart and salty/sweet graham cracker crust all at the same time. And about anything with sweetened condensed milk gets my vote!
I’ve never heard anyone say they felt stabby…but that one line totally hit my funny bone! Heat and pregnancy do not mix! I know the psychosis it causes, ha ha! This looks amazing, and so easy my toddler can help make it. and I was just wondering what to do with these last few hours before husband comes home:-)
Holy yumminess!!! That looks divine!! I would be OK if those were taking up all my freezer space too!!!
This is too adorable for words….sweet
so going to make these.
Thanks so much!
Happy Day
So, I think that this is a perfect gift for my son’s teachers. Anything I should be aware of other than putting a little less of the filling in the jar if I use the lids?
Nope! Super easy! 🙂
Totally off subject, but I guess I’m the only one wondering why in the world you are legally required to wear pants. Was that a joke? Or what’s it all about? I can’t imagine having to wear pants in 94 degree weather.
Oh, I’m using the term “pants” pretty liberally–I pretty much don’t want anything on my bottom half. Dresses are my BFF right now, but I only have so many and I can’t wear them to doctor’s appointments unless I want to give them a peep show (that is, of course, until the measuring stops and the REAL peep show begins in a few weeks. Sorry about the TMI, haha). 🙂
Hahahaha! You make me laugh, Kate. 🙂
Where can you get the cute, squatty jars?
Check the canning aisle of Walmart and/or your favorite grocery store. I never had a hard time finding the 8 ounce ones in Utah, but they’re hard to find in Louisiana, although I have found them at Ace Hardware. I’ve always been able to easily find the 4 ounce ones. OR you could order them from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jarden-Home-Brands-Mouth-Canning/dp/B0000BYD0F/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=1335998165&sr=8-20
Thanks!
I grew up with my mother making this…but as a normal pie, not in jars. To top it off she would shave a chocolate bar on the top. She used yellow lemonade not pink though. This is such a refreshing pie for a hot summer day! It always goes fast because everyone loves it!!
these sound yummy, simple, and inexpensive… but was wondering what you thought of a sugar cookie crust instead of graham cracker? (unfortunately its not very warm in NY yet, send some weather my way! hehe)
For sure! It would be awesome. And take ALL the hot weather you want… 🙂
I used to make lemonade pie a lot when I was in college, mostly because it was easy and didn’t require a lot of kitchen tools! I’ve never made it in a jar, though, and mine never looked this beautiful!! Love it!
I actually just bought a can of limeade concentrate for a recipe, but I only need a half-cup of it, so I might use the rest for these. A lime version would be tasty, too.
This was known as “fluff” dessert growing up and it was served at every family gathering. Although it was usually kept in the fridge instead of freezer. Great either way!
You say to cover them &freeze…but it doesn’t look like you covered yours..right ? Awfully cute with the swirly tops popping out over the top.
I have a 9×13″ dish that has a domed lid on it, so I stuck them all in there and then put the lid on it. Also, if they’re not going to be in the freezer for TOO long, they can go uncovered.
My mom made something like this when I was growing up. Just instead of using cool whip and sweetened condensed milk, she used ice cream. You just have to let is sit out a bit so it will warm up enough to be stirred, then add in the lemonade concentrate. Super yummy!
Sounds absolutely amazing!
Kate’s feisty when she’s pregnant! -totally acceptable.
Totally feisty. I had a really bad moment when I was pregnant with my first and I’m pretty sure what, at the time, I thought was a look of sympathy was actually a look of, “Should I notify security?” 🙂
These are so cute and perfect for the cute little tote bags I bought for my friends’ birthdays (why is everyone’s birthday in the same month?) I was going to make some cookies or muffins, but this is way better! And they will love it! I suppose I can put the little lids on and it will still work.
Oh, for sure. Just don’t fill them ALL the way (or over) the top, but they’d be adorable with lids!
How many jars does this recipe make? Sooo cute, man. So cute.
8 8-ounce jars (those are generously filled) or 16 4-ounce jars. Roughly. 🙂
So cute! We don’t have cool whip here in Denmark, can i use anything else?
I would just use 12 ounces of heavy cream whipped with a generous 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. Hope that helps! 🙂
This is such an adorable idea. Love, love, love the way you displayed them too.
This is one of our family recipes, but ours uses a ritz cracker crust (55 ritz crackers, 1/3 cup powdered sugar, and 1/2 cup melted butter) and we only refrigerated it. I definitely like the idea of freezing it!
These look adorable and tasty, but what I really wanted to say was thanks for the laugh! “Making me feel all stabby” is my new favorite.
This is a fantastic treat to have when my nearly 3 year old baby niece comes to visit during the next couple of days! We’re doing a pink/yellow themed little early birthday celebration (since she lives out of state) for her and I only have sugar cookies ready. You’re saving me! Plus, this is even simpler than the Dream Whip and Jello frozen pie I considered! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I was wondering if I could use the little clear heavy duty plastic cups. Did not want to worry about the glass in small hands or arthritic hands.It would not be as heavy as glass not to mention nothing that has to be washed
Yep, definitely!
Yep, I think the south is having a summer moment. NC is going to be hot all week so this dessert sounds fabulous. I wish I had some of it right now.
Yum! This sounds absolutely lovely! Yum!
This is a family favorite, but I may have to try it in the cute little jars instead of a 9 X 13 pan.
I was thinking these would make really cute treats for Teacher’s Appreciation Day, but how would I keep them frozen for the teachers? Especially since they might not eat these until later in the day?
In any case, I know what dessert I’m making for Mother’s Day! 🙂 (if making a whole pie, what would the ingredient measurements be?)
You might have to see if there was a freezer in the cafeteria or the faculty room that you could use. 🙂
As far as the whole pie goes, use the exact same measurements, but just pop the whole filling into one of those prepared graham cracker crusts (or you can press the crust recipe into a pie plate/springform pan/9×13″ pan. I’ve never made it with the little tarts, but in my experience, you’ll end up filling a few more of those, so maybe 10 tart crusts?
all of our teachers lounges have a refrigerator in them and I am fairly certain most teachers lounges do…definitely check..wish I taught at that school..
Cute!!!
Whoa… mind.blown. These look so amazingly wonderful, I wish I had the stuff on hand so that I could be making them now… at 1:14am. Instead I am sitting here debating how crazy I’d look going to the grocery store at this hour for this stuff. Ha! I guess I will wait till tomorrow, but only because I don’t want to put public clothes on. 😉
I read this post and totally giggled at “public clothes”…. so glad I’m not the only one who thinks like that!