Butter Brickle Frozen Dessert

Food can evoke certain feelings in us and this lovely dessert does that for me in a big way.

It’s a rush of memories from summers past. School is out, running through the sprinklers, BBQ’s, old fashioned 4th of July celebrations, summer vacations, and sleepovers in the tent my Dad set up in our front yard.

It’s so pretty I wanted to include about 100 pictures of it from different angles but managed to pick out just a few. It was hard.

It’s basically a very simple no-bake cheesecake or “freezer cheesecake”  that is layered with a toasted oat/pecan mixture and caramel/butterscotch ice cream topping. It’s rich, sweet and indulgent and if you put it out at your next gathering, there won’t be crumb left.

The grocery list – Graham crackers, butter, vanilla, pecans, quick cooking oats, caramel/butterscotch (or caramel OR butterscotch) ice cream topping, flour, sugar, Cool Whip, reduced fat cream cheese, and brown sugar.

Either caramel or butterscotch ice cream topping works well but Mrs. Richardson’s had the genius idea to combine them in this Butterscotch Caramel variety. It is perfect for this. Thank you Mrs. Richardson, wherever you are.

You’ll need 1-1/4 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs which after years of exhaustive research I’ve found this happens to be what you get after you crush up one sleeve of graham crackers. No need to dirty a measuring cup. Just place the contents of one sleeve of graham crackers in a zippered plastic storage bag and have at it with a rolling pin or even a can of green beans. A food processor will do the job as well, but then we’d have more dishes.

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and white sugar.

Coat the bottom and sides of a 9″ springform pan with non-stick cooking spray and pat the crumb mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake it at 350 degrees for 6 minutes then remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely.

In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter and pecans. Pour the mixture out on to a rimmed baking sheet and pop it in a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes or till lightly browned (as above).

Crumble the mixture up while it is still warm from the oven and then set it aside to cool completely.

Now, on to some creamy goodness. Using an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla; beating until smooth. Fold in the Cool Whip with a wooden spoon and stir until well combined.

Spread half the cream cheese mixture over the cooled crust.

Top it with half the crumbled oat/pecan mixture.

Drizzle 1/3 of the ice cream topping over the top.

Repeat these layers one more time, cover the springform pan with foil and transfer it to the freezer. If you can, make it the night before and let it sit overnight in the freezer or at the very least get it in the freezer early in the morning the day you want to serve it. It should freeze for a minimum of four hours.

Reserve the remaining 1/3 of the ice cream topping for later.

When you are ready to serve it, remove the pan from the freezer and let it sit on the counter for about 10 minutes.

The springform pan should come off very easily to reveal a thing of pure beauty.

Hello gorgeous.

Get your plate over here.

Drizzle some of the reserved ice cream topping over the top of each slice for the perfect summer dessert.

Butter Brickle Frozen Dessert

Yield: Makes 1 – 9″ Round Springform

Ingredients:

• 1 sleeve graham crackers, crushed (approximately 1-1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs)
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 3/4 cup white sugar, divided
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans
• 2 (8 ounce) packages reduced fat (Neufchatel) cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 (8 ounce) container Cool Whip, thawed
• 1 (16 ounce) jar Mrs. Richardson’s Butterscotch Caramel (or similar) ice cream topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat the bottom and sides of a 9″ springform pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, 1/3 cup melted butter and 1/4 cup white sugar until well mixed. Press into bottom of the prepared springform pan.

Bake 6 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool completely.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter and pecans until well mixed. Pour out and evenly distribute onto a baking sheet.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until light brown. Crumble while still warm. Set aside to cool completely.

In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, 1/2 cup white sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Fold in Cool Whip.

Spread half of the cream cheese mixture over the crust in the springform pan. Sprinkle half of the oat crumbles over the cream cheese mixture, and drizzle about one third of the caramel ice cream topping over the top. Repeat layers. Cover springform pan with foil and freeze overnight or for at least 4 hours. Reserve remaining ice cream topping for later.

When ready to serve, remove pan from freezer and allow to sit for about 5 or 10 minutes. Remove pan sides, slice and serve with additional ice cream topping drizzled over the top.

Adapted from Allrecipes