Oreo Dessert is the yardstick for all other desserts in my family. “Oh, this triple-tier chocolate cake covered in perfect buttercream is good and all...but it’s no Oreo Dessert." Or: “I ate the most amazing dessert at the most amazing restaurant last night...but it was no Oreo Dessert.” It’s not an Oreo cheesecake or sheet cake or trifle—it’s a layered ice cream dessert. It only requires six ingredients, one of which is store-bought ice cream cake. Sure, you could make your own ice cream, but that kind of defeats the purpose of this easy-peasy, no-bake ice cream cake. The only other ingredients you need to make it are Oreo cookies (of course), butter, German sweet chocolate, granulated sugar, and a can of evaporated milk.
My mom got the recipe years ago from my late Aunt Vicki, who got the recipe from a church or community cookbook. My mom copied it down on an index card (remember those?), and our attempts to find that cookbook have always come up short. I’m glad, actually, because it seems much more legendary that way. Somehow, I think a stained index card with a handwritten family recipe is almost a guarantee that it will work out magically.