Cooking Lesson #726: Hot Fudge Ice Cream Bar Dessert

…from the Perspectives’ Kitchen

How you doin’? This is an incredibly fun, easy, rich and satisfying ice cream dessert. All your friends and family will be screaming about this after dinner surprise. “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream made with store-bought ice cream sandwiches and a jar of hot fudge sauce—well, maybe a few more ingredients that you may already have in your kitchen.

I used to love to munch on ice cream sandwiches and, to this day I can’t resist a bowl of ice cream. It’s gotten so bad that I can’t keep a container of Ben & Jerry’s in my freezer—B&J’s being my favorite ice cream. I know they’ve gotten a little commercial being owned by Unilever (a British multi-national company), but they have kept the quality up on all their legacy flavors. When our R&D team was in South Burlington, VT we all went to the factory.  While we missed the last tour, we did get a free triple scoop.   
 
Make this great dessert recipe a day or two before you need it and freeze it. No need to slack this out, it can be enjoyed immediately or devoured straight from the freezer if you really lack self-control! It's a perfect game-day dessert. 
 
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 2 minutes
Freeze time: 1 hour 30 minutes or overnight
 
Ingredients 
16 ounces hot fudge topping, (I used Mrs. Richardson’s Hot Fudge for this recipe)
1/4 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky) (I prefer Skippy)
19 ice cream sandwiches (store bought)
12 ounces frozen whipped topping, thawed
4 ounces additional hot fudge for topping (optional)
1 cup chopped salted peanuts (I only use US-grown peanuts)
 
Directions

1. Pour the hot fudge and cream into a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave until hot, about 2 minutes on high, stopping every 30 seconds to stir. Do not allow the mixture to boil or burn.
2. Stir the peanut butter into hot chocolate until smooth.
3. Allow the fudge and peanut butter to cool to room temperature.
4. Line the bottom of a deep 9 X 13-inch baking dish with a layer of food film and half the ice cream sandwiches.
5. Spread half the whipped topping over the sandwiches.
6. Spoon half the chocolate-peanut butter mixture over that.
7. Top with half the peanuts.
8. Repeat the layers.
9. Freeze until firm, at least 1-1/2 hours, but better overnight.
10. Cut into squares to serve.
11. Topp with a light drizzle of the additional hot fudge, if desired.

ChefSecret:  If you decide to use Hershey’s Hot Fudge, do not add the cream—use straight out of the container.

Quip of the Day:  A gorilla walks into a restaurant and sits down at a booth. A waitress comes over to take his order. He orders an ice cream sundae. The waitress goes back into the kitchen, gets an ice cream sundae and takes it to his table. The gorilla eats the whole sundae and then motions to the waitress for the check. The waitress comes over, gives him the bill and remarks “we don’t get a lot of gorillas coming in here”. The Gorilla replies “After charging $15 for an ice cream sundae, I’m not surprised.”
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to  Feeding America, Tunnel to Towers, Union Rescue Mission and/or American Red Cross.
 
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                                                                             ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2024

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