It's HOT. Let's eat Ice Cream Dessert Cupcakes! And a giveaway!

Oh my holy hotness.  It is hot my friends.  I mean HOT.  I don't know what part of the country or world you are reading from, but if you are anywhere near me you know it is really.  Freaking!  HOT.  outside. Thankfully this arrived at our house last Thursday compliments of Tillamook.

Hello 6 gallons(!) of ice cream!
My favorite boys quickly opted for a taste test....

Thank you Tillamook, you may have just saved us from severe heat exhaustion this week.
We are looking at over 100 for a spell.......and it was already 100+ over the weekend.

Blerg!  And this pic is a day old.  I read this morning that we might top out at 111 today.  Eww.
Just eww.

There is only one thing that can cure the pain of a heatwave like this and that is ICE CREAM.
Am I right or what?

Don't hate.  It goes quickly when it's hot outside!

Tillamook treated us to 6 delicious flavors of ice cream and they are all truly delicious.

I know this because I have been sampling them all.  Daily.  There are no calories in samples.  At least that's what I've heard.  So anyway I thought to myself, what can I do with all of this delicious ice cream, other-than-eat-it-straight-out-of-the-gallon-in-an-attempt-to-cool-my-overheated-body-down?
And then it hit me.  NANA'S ICE CREAM DESSERT!

Can we talk about Ice Cream Dessert?  It's a thing.  The very first time I went to Nicholas' house for Christmas my little sis was with me.  It was a big shindig.  As my family is just as big and just as loud as Nicholas' family, I wasn't fazed.

Suddenly, time for dessert had arrived.  All of the children started running around the living room bursting with one question, "Ice Cream Dessert?!  Did Nana make Ice Cream Dessert?"  Sister and I  were confused.  Hadn't these children ever had ice cream before?  Was it even possible for a child to have never eaten ice cream?  Their fury over "Ice Cream Dessert" made it seem so.

Then we saw the pan.  Yes pan.  It wasn't just plain old ice cream they were talking about, it was ICE CREAM DESSERT my friends.  A delicious concoction of Oreo crust, ice cream, caramel and more Oreo's cut like a piece of cake.  Behold: The Most Delicious Dessert Ever.



So, with 6 gallons of ice cream I decided to get to work and put a bit of a twist on Nana's Ice Cream Dessert.

It would be a shame to only use one flavor, right?  Instead, I opted to mix and match.  Just for you, I made Ice Cream Dessert/Cupcakes.  Yum.

Oregon Strawberry/Nilla Wafer/Caramel/Fresh Strawberry

Marionberry/Nilla Wafer/Caramel/Fresh Blackberry
Pop Quiz:  Are Marionberries & Blackberries the same thing?

Old Fashioned Vanilla/Nilla Wafer/Caramel

Chocolate Peanut Butter/Oreo/Peanut

Tillamook Mudslide/Oreo/Mini Chocolate Chip

Fireside S'mores/Oreo/Mini Marshmallow

Below are directions to make Nana O's original Ice Cream Dessert and Ice Cream Dessert Cupcakes.
Mix and Match.  Have Fun.  Eat them quick before they melt!
Don't miss the Tillamook coupon below!

***AND***

How about a GIVEAWAY?!  I have some special coupons for a free carton of Tillamook that I'd love to give to YOU.  Here is how to get lots of entries:

***THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED***

The winners are Amy & Amy, Congrats!

$1 Off Tillamook Coupon*

Ingredients:
1/2 gallon of your favorite ice cream, I suggest Tillamook**
1 (15oz) package of Oreo cookies
-OR-
1 (11oz) package of Nilla Wafers
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
1 jar of your favorite caramel sauce (or make your own), I prefer Mrs Richardson's***
Your favorite additional topping

How to Cupcakes:

Place all of the Oreo's or Nilla Wafers in a ziploc bag and smash them to bits with your rolling pin, then dump them in a large bowl.
Reserve about 10% of your cookie crumbles in a separate bowl (you'll use these to top later).
Pour melted butter into cookie crumbles and mix well.
Using a spoon, press 2 tablespoons of cookie crumbles into each slot of your cupcake tin - I used liners and then removed them after re-freezing the dessert.  I'm not sure how you'd get the ice cream cupcake out of the tin without doing this.
Use a standard scoop of ice cream for each cupcake and press it into the cookie crumbles with a spoon.
Pour caramel over the top of all the cupcakes.
Add reserved cookie crumbles to top each cupcake.
Add any additional favorite topping of your choice.
Pour more caramel on top if your heart desires.
Place the tin in your freezer and re-freeze those cupcakes for a few hours.
Makes 12-14 cupcakes
Enjoy!

How to Ice Cream Dessert (in a pan):

Place all of the Oreo's or Nilla Wafers in a ziploc bag and smash them to bits with your rolling pin, then dump them in a large bowl.
Reserve about 10% of your cookie crumbles in a separate bowl (you'll use these to top later).
Pour melted butter into cookie crumbles and mix well.
Using a spoon, press the cookie crumbles into the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
If you can cut your carton of ice cream open and slice "pieces" of ice cream to cover the the pan, then press it in with a spoon.  Otherwise, scoop it all out and press it into the pan with a spoon.
Pour caramel over the top of the whole pan.
Add reserved cookie crumbles the top.
Add any additional favorite topping of your choice.
Pour more caramel on top if your heart desires.
Place the pan in your freezer and re-freeze those cupcakes for a few hours.
Enjoy!

*The $1 off Tillamook Ice Cream coupon will be available until July 31, 2013. It will expire within 30 days of printing, so don’t forget to use it soon!  Please reach out to Tillamook directly with any questions, comments, or concerns about the coupon: Contact Tillamook [www.Tillamook.com/Contact]

**Here are some nifty Tillamook facts:

• Tillamook Ice Cream uses only the highest quality milk from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones.  (The FDA has stated that no significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rBST treated and non-rBST treated cows.)
• Tillamook is the #1 ice cream brand in the Northwest.  (Source: IRI 2012).
• Tillamook Ice Cream contains 13.5% butterfat, which creates the smooth, creamy texture and delicious flavor.

***This is an affiliate link, so if you click it and buy something from Amazon, you are helping the blog.  Thanks!

I was compensated for this post with the ice cream shown and the best ice cream scooper I've ever owned, however all opinions expressed are completely my own.