Decadent Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert

You know those old commercials about Rice Krispie Treats?  The ones where the lady sits on her ass in the kitchen reading a magazine till everyone in the other room starts whining, then she musses her hair and flicks flour in her face to make it look like she's been slaving for hours, even though Rice Krispie Treats are mind-numbingly easy to make?  Well, I have a similarly easy recipe that I'm going to share with you tonight. 

A friend of mine introduced me to this dessert years ago, and my family loves it.  It takes all of about 5-10 minutes to assemble, requires a mere 3 ingredients, and tastes great.  For this dessert, you will need the following:

-A 9 x 13 pan
-1 8 oz tub of Cool Whip
-1 box of 12 ice cream sandwiches
-1 16 oz tub of Marzetti's Old Fashioned Caramel Apple Dip (or similar item)

Start shucking ice cream sandwiches.  I'd start with 9.  Put them in the pan side by side till the pan is full.  I personally like them crammed in, so I'll cut them in half lengthwise or width-wise as needed to make sure the pan is completely full.  Eat all leftovers so they don't go to waste (just waist).

Ice cream.  Yummy, yummy ice cream.  The cookie part forms your dessert's crust.

Next, take the tub of caramel dip and, using a knife or spatula, evenly spread the caramel all over the ice cream sandwiches.

Not just for apples anymore.

Lastly, do the same with the Cool Whip, spreading it evenly over the caramel.

Whip it.  Whip it good.

For a lighter dessert, use low-fat ingredients and/or spread less caramel dip and Cool Whip on the sandwiches.  Store in the freezer between servings.  It's great for parties, especially when you need to throw something together on short notice.  If you have a smaller family or limited freezer space, it also works well halved.

And voilà--that's it!  Easy-peasy, right?  You're welcome.

P.S.  It needs a shorter, quippier name than "Decadent Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert."  Any thoughts?  Feel free to leave me a comment if you want to share a suggestion.  Meanwhile, happy nomming!