I’ve never had a Christmas without this dessert. If you’ve been around the cafe for a while, you can figure out that is a lot of Oreo Peppermint Ice Cream Cakes. Who knows how long my grandmother (Popa’s mother) made this treat before I joined the scene?!?
All I know is it wouldn’t be Christmas without this sweet tradition.
Mia took over the honor of making the cake when Grandma was no longer able. And we are all grateful she’s kept the tradition alive, especially Popa and my brother. I hope you enjoy this special Christmas cake as much as my family!
Grandma’s Peppermint Ice Cream & Oreo Cake
1 lg. pkg. of Oreo Cookies (hint: buy two packages!)
1/2 gal. (2 qt) Peppermint Ice Cream
1 stick of butter, melted
Pulse cookies in a food processor until coarsely crumbled. Melt butter and add to cookies. Pulse until combined. Add 1/3 of cookie mixture to form crust in bottom of 9 x 13 Pyrex dish. Place crumb filled dish in freezer to set, 15 – 20 minutes. Freezing crumbs makes it much easier to spread the ice cream! Place ice cream in a large mixing bowl and allow to thaw slightly. You should be able to stir the ice cream, but it will still be near frozen. Layer 1/2 of the ice cream on top of frozen crumb crust. Layer 1/3 more of the cookies on top of the ice cream layer. Place dish back into freezer to set, about 15 – 20 minutes. I put the remaining ice cream in the fridge while the cake sets in the freezer. You don’t want it to melt. When cake is firm to the touch, remove from freezer and repeat layering remaining ice cream and ending with cookies. Depending on how many cookies were eaten when you started this recipe, you may or may not have enough cookie mixture to completely cover the cake. If it looks slim, you can either add more cookies to the original mixture and pulse to combine or hand crumble a few and sprinkle on top!
The cake should be made at least 24 hours before serving. Store in freezer and remove about 20 minutes before serving to make it easier to cut and serve.
