Back in the eighties my parents had a dessert similar to this at a restaurant and Mama loved it so much she sat there studying it for a bit in order to be able to come home and recreate it for us. It became a fast favorite and has only gotten better with time.

Speaking of the eighties, they stalked me the other day when I was walking through the mall. I honestly thought it wasn’t possible to out eighties the eighties, but I guess it took 2010 to do it. Neon is back? Skinny jeans and wildly colored makeup? Fashion has run full circle yet again but I’m still waiting to see if the hair returns.

~sighs longingly~

I was really good at eighties hair. Really. I used to tease my wings out and then spray them with aqua net while I stood with my head tilted over in front of an oscillating fan in my bedroom until they dried. It’s a wonder I didn’t fly away with how big those things were. I’ve destroyed most of the photographic evidence but did manage to find this one from my high school graduation and decided to offer it up as a public service message. Look at these two hairstyles and see if you can guess which one is me.

I think my high school class is personally responsible for at least ten percent of the ozone’s deterioration.

The thing that baffles me is that our kids have seen these photos and yet they still want to revisit this era of fashion um…uniqueness.  While I’m not a big fan of the resurgence of eighties style, I will tell you that this flashback recipe from our family in that decade is still as big a hit today as it was back then and it is still a favorite of my brothers. Mama usually makes it on Halloween and calls it “dirt cake” but it is good year round. Be sure to check at the bottom of this post for another Halloween tradition we had growing up that is inexpensive, easy, and fun.

This recipe can make a 9×13 inch pan full but if that is a bit much for your family, why not make 2 8×8 pans and give one to someone as a gift? So many of us get wrapped up and busy that we forget what a kind and loving gesture a gift of food can be.

You’ll need: Cookies and Cream Ice Cream, Caramel Topping, and Oreo’s or a generic version.

You can also use vanilla ice cream and crush some Oreos up in it like we used to have to do before they invented the cookies and cream kind. Feel free to use any caramel topping, whatever kind cranks yer tractor.

Ain’t nobody gonna judge here on Southern Plate because that’s not how we work.

Put your cookies in a big old ziplock bag

Crush the cookies however way strikes your fancy.

This is another one of those golden opportunities that cooking yields to work out any anger issues.

Thats how come Grannys are so sweet. If you think they never got mad at you, just think back to how tender the meat was that they served 🙂

If you are making a 9×13, put half your cookies in the bottom of it.

If you are making two 8×8’s, put 1/4 of your cookies in the bottom of each pan.

Soften your ice cream a bit and divide it among your pans.

Spread that around a bit.

Pour your caramel sauce over the ice cream in each pan.

Spread that around some, too.

Sprinkle the rest of your cookie crumbs over the top.

TADA!

Now cover it with foil, wrap it really well, and place in the freezer for a few hours.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:86]

This is the meal Mama always made on Halloween when we were kids. Jack-o-burgers, ghost fingers (french fries), and blood (ketchup). To make the Jack-O-Burger, just use regular old slice cheese and cut a few triangles out for eyes and then the mouth you like. If you are making them for folks who don’t like a lot of cheese, just use the cut out pieces to make a face on their burger (this is what Mama always did for me).

Have a wonderful weekend!

Gratefully,

Christy

“We should believe that when you treat people as they are,

they will remain as they are, but when you treat them as they could be,

they become what they should be.”

Submitted by Kolene. Submit your quote by clicking  here (I always need new quotes!)

If you enjoyed this post, I’d love to hear back from you below.

Your comments make this a conversation!

What was your favorite eighties fashion fad?