Several years ago, in an action that can only be described as evil and motivated by malice, the National Biscuit Co. (Nabisco) discontinued a classic product, its Famous Chocolate Wafers, which generations of grandmothers and Home-Ec teachers had depended on as the key ingredient in Icebox Cake.
This modified version of icebox cake uses store-bought chocolate chip cookies and is very good — especially for Father’s Day. It only has four ingredients and does not actually involve cooking or baking, so it can be a decent project for kids to make.
One suggestion: When preparing food with small children, measure all the ingredients out ahead of time, and have everything laid out before calling the kids into the kitchen. Just trust me on this.
- 2 13-ounce packages of chocolate-chip cookies – the crisp kind, not the soft ones with the odd taste
- 3 cups (1½ pints) heavy cream
- 8-ounce package of cream cheese
- 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
Crush 13 cookies into a bowl or large measuring cup. You could definitely do this in a plastic bag with a rolling pin, but I find it very satisfying to hold a couple of them at a time in my hand and tell them, “Oh, you know what you did,” and crush them by hand. On the seventh go-around, there will be one cookie left. Imagine his level of freak-out as he waits for his fate.
(If your children take a message from this as well, so much the better.)
Pour the heavy cream over the traumatized cookies and stir to make sure they’ve all gotten soaked. Set aside for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, line a loaf pan with plastic wrap. If you are like me, the wrap will flutter around and bond to everything in your kitchen, except the loaf pan, and this will easily take the 10 minutes you’ve set aside for the cookie crumbs to infuse into the cream. Your children will learn some colorful new language. After 10 minutes, strain the cookie/cream mixture. Give the leftover cookie sludge to your least whiny child.
With your electric stand mixer or hand mixer, whip the cream cheese until it is soft and fluffy, about four minutes. Use the mixer’s whisk attachment if you have one. Whisk in the powdered sugar, then drizzle in the cookie-infused cream. You will probably need to stop the mixer after a minute or so and scrape cream cheese from the bottom of the bowl, so it mixes well with the cream. Turn the mixer to its highest setting, and beat the cream cheese/cookie cream mixture, until it forms stiff peaks.
With a large spoon or a silicone spatula, spread two globs of the cream mixture across the bottom of the loaf pan, then lay down a layer of cookies on top of it. You will have to break a few in half or into four pieces to fill any large cookie-gaps. Spread down another layer of the cream mixture, then another layer of cookies. Continue doing this until you’ve used up all the cream mixture. Hopefully, you will have enough for a final creamy layer on the top of the loaf pan.
You will probably have some leftover cookies. Use your own best judgment, but they will go really well with freshly made iced coffee (see the cover story).
Cover the loaf pan with one more piece of plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for at least six hours, to let the cookies and the cream reach a state of détente. An hour before you want to serve this icebox cake, put it in the freezer, which will make it easier to slice into servings.
Featured photo: Icebox cake. Photo by John Fladd.