Looking for the best and easy make ahead no bake Thanksgiving dessert to make with grandchildren for Thanksgiving, I looked for ice cream cakes made with their favorite oreo cookies and found two listed as the best. Each uses regular Oreos, not double stuff or other new varieties. . . but I wonder if one could experiment otherwise. But only one, this Grandma thinks is the best. This recipe has only four ingredients!
OREO ICE CREAM CAKE
INGREDIENTS
1 (20 ounce) package Oreo cookies, crushed
1 (8 ounce) package Cool Whip, thawed
1 (16 ounce) jar of Hershey’s hot fudge
1 1∕2 gallons vanilla ice cream
DIRECTIONS
1. Grease a 9×13″ pan. Line with parchment paper.
2. Put the Oreos into a freezer weight plastic bag. Have the grandchildren crush the cookies by beating on the bag with a rolling pin. Be creative–elbows, fists, or a plastic hammer? Shout along with the action?
3. Layer half of the cookie crumbs in the pan.
4. Soften the ice cream in the microwave. Spread the softened ice cream over the cookie crumbs.
5. In the microwave, warm the fudge until able to pour and pour over the ice cream.
5. Spread the Cool Whip over the fudge. Then cover with the rest of the Oreo cookie crumbs.
6. Make ahead! Put it in the freezer for at least two hours. Take it out of the freezer about 20 minutes before you want to serve it.
As whenever cooking or baking with grandchildren, the recipe should be divided up into child tasks depending on the number of grandchildren and the ages of the grandchildren doing the activity. Of course, Grandparent must try to be fair and give each child a chance to participate, but the appearance of fairness is more important still, especially when use of appliances that may be dangerous to a young child.
Remember that teaching cleanliness and safety is part of the process. Wash hands. Make a ritual of preparing the space. Keep lots of old towels to lay on the counter and on the floors for easy clean up. Read the recipe and gather bowls and utensils. Clean up is divided as well, so lay towels near the sink and on the floor there too. Load the cake into the freezer and load the towels into the washer. No bake, almost no pots and pans and few utensils to clean, and virtually no other cleanup is the best.
Yes, cooking and baking is a great learning experience, but most of all, grandchildren remember this for a long time. Activities with grandparents are memory creators. Remember to have a camera ready to memorialize the activity in pictures from beginning to the best part, eating the finished product. If inclined, make an annual Shutterfly book for the Thanksgiving celebration to review again next year.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration with your family and friends with
Joy,
Mema