Serendipity! Two or three people who don’t know each other, and live hundreds of miles apart in separate States, ask for the same lost recipe, on the same day. That’s what happened with this ice-cream pie request. Chuck Weibler wrote in looking for a frozen lime pie he remembered from 1956 the same day that Marcie asked for a similar dessert. Both recipes included chocolate ice-cream under a home-made, frozen lime-cream topper; Marcie’s with a chocolate crust, and Chuck’s with a gingersnap crust. In 1956, the Chicago Daily Tribune featured just such a recipe that could be prepared either with a gingersnap, or, a chocolate cookie crust. Sooooo good! Here is our adaptation of the recipe, for individual pie cups & with chocolate shavings on top. 
This is a good make-ahead dessert–and lovely party fare. If you are making ahead, be sure to wrap well to protect the little ice cream pie minis from freezer damage, pull them out once you’ve whipped the cream and shaved the chocolate, garnish and serve! Makes 6 to 8 individual pie cup servings; or 1, 8-inch pie
- 1 cup chocolate cookie or gingersnap cookie crumbs
- 3 Tbsp melted butter
- 3 Tbsp extra-fine sugar
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 2 eggs (use pasteurized egg product, for safety)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- Finely-grated zest from two limes
- Juice from 2 limes, to measure 1/3 cup
- 1 pint high-quality chocolate ice cream
- 1 cup whipped cream (for garnish)
- 1/2 cup finely-grated chocolate shavings (for garnish)
- 6 to 8 tiny lime-slice wedges (for garnish)
- Make crust: Using a rolling pin, crush 18 to 20 ginger snaps (or chocolate cookies if making a chocolate crust.) Mix crumbs with 3 Tbsp extra-fine sugar. Add 3 Tbsp melted butter. Mix. Press into bottoms and up sides of 6 to 8 individual pudding cups, or, miniature pie or tart pans. You can also press into an 8-inch pie plate Chill.
- Make filling: Whip the pasteurized equivalent of two eggs in a stand mixer at high speed until light and lemon colored. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar and continue to whip until thick and fluffy.
- Stir in 1 cup of cream (liquid cream, not yet whipped), 1/3 cup of lime juice and zest of the two limes.
- Pour mixture into a large plastic container and freeze until solid.
- Scrape frozen mixture into stand mixer and whip until smooth. Pour back into plastic container and freeze a second time until almost solid.
- Whip chocolate ice cream until smooth and divide between individual pie cups. Top with the nearly-frozen-solid lime ice cream.
- Place finished filled cups on cookie tray and freeze until solid.
- Whip remaining cup of cream. Top each pie with whipped cream. Garnish with chocolate shavings and tiny lime-slice wedges. Serve immediately.
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