The Ultimate Dessert

David had some great roommates in college, and one of the wonderful things he learned from his roommates was how to make The Ultimate Dessert.  It is similar to grasshopper pie, or ice cream cake.  I made this dessert for my daughter's 11th birthday party and every kid told me they loved it and wanted more!  It has two of her favorite things in it, mint chocolate chip ice cream and Oreos.  You can't go wrong making this dessert for a party or get together and it stores well in the freezer!

Ingredients:

2 (1/2 gallon) containers of your favorite mint chocolate chip ice cream.  We love Breyers.  Make sure the ice cream is in the paper container, not hard plastic because you will need to cut it

2 containers of Cool Whip, or 1 large container of Cool Whip

1 family size package of Oreos

1 container of chocolate syrup (Hershey's chocolate syrup for ice cream)

1 9x12 pan.  I use a glass one.  I have also made this in a cheesecake pan and it turned out great.

Instructions:

Spray the pan with cooking spray.

Smash Oreos in a large Ziplock bag.  I split the Oreos into two bags.  Then I smash them with my rolling pin.  I don't roll over them, I just whack them until they're broken into small pieces.  Be careful so your bag doesn't rip.  

Spread the Oreos over the bottom of the pan until covered.  Like a crust.

Squirt chocolate syrup on top of the Oreos.  You can do as little or as much as you want.  I usually drizzle it side to side across the bottom the short way and then side to side across the bottom the long way.  A medium amount.

Slice the ice cream in the ice cream container into 1 inch thick slices, like cut the carton as you slice. I always get Breyers because their container is easy to cut and it's yummy ice cream.  I use a bread knife. Take the strip of container off of the ice cream and layer the ice cream into the pan on top of the Oreos until all of the Oreos are covered.  You can spread the ice cream once it's a little melted to fill in all of the cracks.  One container of ice cream should make six 1 inch slices to place in the pan, covering the entire area.  Use a fork or butter knife to spread the ice cream around evenly.  It's ok if it gets a little melty, we will be freezing it overnight.

Spread another layer of Oreos across the ice cream and drizzle with chocolate, just like you did the first layer of Oreos.  

Slice the second container of ice cream and place the ice cream on top of the Oreo layer, just like last time. 

Finally, spread Cool Whip on top of the last layer of ice cream.  This makes a beautiful white top.  You can add a few more Oreo Crumbs to the top, or decorate it by adding whole Oreos, candy, chocolate drizzle, or whatever you want that fits the occasion.  

Cover the top with Saran wrap.  If the Saran wrap hits the top of the dessert, you can use toothpicks to keep it from sticking to the top of the cake.  Just put a few toothpicks into the cake to keep the saran wrap off. Usually my top layer sits just below the depth of my glass pan, so I don't need to do that.  (It's deeper than normal glass pans). 

Put the dessert in the freezer and freeze for 24 hours. 

When serving, take it out about 5-10 minutes before so it will soften enough to cut it.  I use a butcher knife to cut it and metal spatula to serve it.  

You can make this dessert in a round cheesecake pan as well.  It's pretty versatile and everyone always loves it!  Make sure you don't have leftovers, or you'll be eating it for breakfast! 😉