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Thanks for this great recipe! I made this recipe for my boyfriend’s family for the 4th of july. Everyone loved it. It was so easy to make, too!
This is my Grandma’s recipe.
And I just love that my Grandma loves Oreo crusts and ice cream bars as much as I do.
This is Oreo crust and ice cream dreamland. It can’t not be addicting when it starts with a seriously thick layer of crushed Oreos with melted butter pressed into a pan, and is then topped with a borderline inappropriately rich layer of homemade fudge sauce, and finally covered with soft ice cream which should definitely be Peanut Butter Panic. Juuuust so you know. When you freeze all of that together, something amazing happens and it’s going to make you the most popular person this fourth of July.
Okay, so maybe it’s a little eleventh hour of me to be posting a recipe that could be for the fourth of July just 15 hours before the actual fourth of July. But I’ve always been a little eleventh hour when it comes to holiday specific foods. And besides, isn’t this just anytime summer food? Edit: anytime food?
I actually really like ice cream, even in the winter. In Minnesota. I live on the edge, you guys. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that we keep our house ridiculously, expensively, embarrassingly warm all through the winter so that Bjork doesn’t have to hear me complaining about how cold my toes are and deal with me leaving the oven open from November to April. Ice cream is just that kinda food.
I have a few tips for success as you start to create this Oreo ice cream wonderland in the next 20 seconds.
First, don’t use too much ice cream. Otherwise you’ll take it to a dinner party and proudly unveil the dessert you brought to share with 4 couples and realize that no, a 3 foot thick layer of ice cream will not, in fact, freeze all the way through. And then you’ll serve something called Oreo fudge ice cream soup instead. And if you have a food blog? You might feel kind of bad about that. Even though it actually still tastes kind of good because it’s ice cream and crushed Oreos and fudge.
Another thing: Pour the fudge right on the crust. The first time I made this I poured the fudge over the ice cream and sort of swirled it in and had a bit of a disaster. Plus I missed out on the epic thickness of that double punch Oreo-fudge crust layer. It’s not to be messed with, you guys. The takeaway is that a molten hot chocolate sauce poured over something frozen will be, uh, annoying. Keep it in order and go for the fudge-topped crust instead.
Which leads me to the next thing. Don’t over-soften the ice cream. It’s totally tempting to just zap it in the microwave for like, what, 8 minutes? I know because I gave in during round one of this ice cream madness and ended up basically pouring ice cream milk over the top layer. The biggest problem here is that it won’t refreeze in the same way and you’ll be cursing at your microwave instead of enjoying the soft creamy texture of the refrozen, appropriately softened ice cream. So just take it slow. Be okay with more firm, more messy ice cream assembly. It should be more like PRESSED over the crust.
Final thing to know is that the ice cream variety is up to you, but I would like to strongly suggest Peanut Butter Panic, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, Bunny Tracks, Moose Tracks, cookies and cream, or any other type of ice cream that is full of chocolate chunks and caramel swirls and stuff like that. My Grandma uses Moose Tracks and everyone dies every time. IT’S SO GOOD.
PS. Moose Tracks? Is that a Minnesota thing?
Oreo Fudge Ice Cream Bars
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 20+ 1x
Description
These Oreo fudge ice cream bars have a deliciously thick crust of crushed Oreo cookies, fudge, and creamy peanut butter ice cream. A major crowd pleaser!
Ingredients
- 1 lb. (1 package) Double Stuf Oreo cookies
- 15 tablespoons butter
- 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 cups (1 tall can) evaporated milk
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 gallon ice cream: choose a flavor you like to make it interesting! Swirled with caramel, stuffed with peanut butter cups, etc.
Instructions
- For the crust: Crush the Oreos in a food processor until fine and crumbly. Melt 7 tablespoons of butter. Add the melted butter to the crushed Oreos and stir to combine. Press the mixture into a 9×13 pan. Place the pan in the refrigerator or freezer to set the crust.
- For the fudge sauce: Take the ice cream out of the freezer so it starts to soften. (I do NOT recommend over softening the ice cream in the microwave because in my experience, it did not refreeze as well.) In a medium saucepan, melt 8 tablespoons butter, chocolate chips, evaporated milk, and powdered sugar. Stir continuously until the mixture boils. Let the mixture boil for 8 minutes, stirring continuously. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
- Assembling: Pour the fudge sauce over the crust. Allow to rest for a few minutes so the fudge sauce continues to cool. Scoop the softened ice cream over the crust and spread or press gently to create an even top layer. It’s a little messy – that’s ok. It doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth. Freeze again for a few hours or until solid. When you’re ready to serve, let the pan sit out for 10 minutes so it softens. This makes it easier to cut and eat.
- Prep Time: 45 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: oreo fudge ice cream bars, oreo ice cream bars, chocolate ice cream bars
If you can find your ice cream packaged in a box, deconstruct the box & simply slice the ice cream and lay the slices over the top. The more melty stuff can be used to fill in cracks.
I made these a couple weeks ago and they were wonderful, but the crust ended up being really hard, and every time we tried to cut through it, a piece of it would end up flying across the room. Any idea what went wrong?
It is supposed to be a pretty hard crust, but it should be “crackable” – I always just press my knife into the crust and it sort of cracks apart. It’s not like a soft, smooth cut. I would suggest letting it soften out a bit before cutting into it. The ice cream will be softer, too, obviously, but once the butter/Oreo mixture thaws it will be easier to cut.
Do you have nutrition info for this recipe?
ummmm no. 🙂 too dangerous.
This was really good, Lindsay. It’s rich with the Moosetracks, too. Mine had brownie in it. But it was good and my daughter who is 5 asked me to make it again soon. Thanks!
ohmygod this was so good. I used vanilla caramel fudge ice cream and it was heaven ^^ Instead of putting it in a pan though, I put it in muffin cups so they were easier to serve. I loved this recipe. Thanks so much!
WOW, sounds amazing. Thank you for the comment!
Ice cream is good any time of year and I can easily see myself eating (this entire thing) even in the dead of winter. I love everything about this! Your grandmother sounds like my kind of lady – I’m a die-hard Oreo-crust addict too!
In PA, we make this but with coffee ice cream and a thin layer of whipped cream spread on the top. We call it mud pie–SO GOOD!
oooh sounds amazing!
Wow … this looks ridiculously good! I think I’m going to have to make this tonight, or more likely right this very second 🙂
Oh man! This just went on the recipe list! I imagine just covering myself in chocolate fudge sauce (.. or not).
Mmm, can’t wait to try this.
Many thanks from the Flanagan kids to you, for bringing this yummy treat… It was all devoured before we hit the road!
You are killing me with these bars! Anything on top of an Oreo crust can never be bad, but with ice cream, what a perfect summer dessert!!
I made these this week and as promised they were delicious. However, my fudge layer was SO hard that we could not cut through it! We ended up scraping off the ice cream, warming up the crust and then plopping the ice cream back on top. Any ideas where I may have went wrong? Or is the fudge supposed to be rock hard? Thanks!
No way! Sad! I literally just ate another piece that’s been hanging out in the freezer for more than a week now and the sauce was soft and yummy, even straight out of the freezer. Did you time the boiling for 8 minutes? Maybe it gets harder if you boil it for too long?
It was probably the boiling process. It’s worth trying again as it is a yummy mixture!
Yummy! I must try this this summer!
I found Moose Tracks ice cream at the grocery store for the first time last summer and OH MY GOODNESS. I fell in love. At first bite. SO amazing! And… If you tried to make these bars with my family around, you wouldn’t even get a single picture in. We would’ve devoured the entire pan the second you pulled it out of the freezer!
Glad you liked it Amy! 🙂
Thanks Lindsay! I’m always looking for new ice cream suggestions, so if you have any more, I’d love to hear them! 🙂
Thanks for this great recipe! I made this recipe for my boyfriend’s family for the 4th of july. Everyone loved it. It was so easy to make, too!
Awesome!
Moose tracks is my icecream dreamland! Aside from chocolate peanut butter, it is the only flavor that ever satisfies me! Awesome vintage dessert–I love the ease!
Man oh man, your grandma has come up with quite an epic recipe! That oreo crust is GENIUS!
Grandma’s recipes are always the best 🙂 I made an ice cream cake earlier this week with and Oreo crust. SERiously the best!! LOVE these bars.
Drooling over here. This looks amazing. I was literally just thinking of making a dessert somewhat like this so I may use you as inspiration. 🙂 Have a Happy 4th!
OMG- seriously loving this recipe. I will be making that because now I am avoiding the oven as much as possible. However I am happy to hear that I am not the only one who constantly has cold toes & leaves the oven open for the extra heat a good portion of the year!!
Have a great weekend- I will be enjoying this recipe with my family!! 🙂
OMG…these bars are calling my name! They sound soooo amazing! Yummy!
This looks incredible Lindsay! I’m totally an eleventh-hour holiday food person, and it certainly seems to have paid off today. Headed to a Fourth of July BBQ (Bangkok-style of course) tonight, and I still hadn’t figured out what to bring for dessert! This is it!
Aw yeah! Have fun celebrating America while abroad! 🙂
This sounds absolutely divine, and even though it is winter here, worth a try soon 🙂
Moosetracks? It’s definitely not a thing here in Australia. We have Kangarooprints, though.
Haha, just kidding no we don’t.
I was like, really?!?! That’s hilarious.
This sounds delightful… even though I am not a big fan of oreos (I know, that’s strange). I think I have to make this for my step brother’s birthday next week. Maybe try a different cookie crust… hm…