Ice Box Cake

4 sleeves graham crackers
1 large can crushed pineapple in juice (not syrup)
1 small tub (or large, if you're feeling feisty) Cool Whip

Give a nearby child a sleeve of graham crackers and let them smash them into dust. You may want to put the sleeve of crackers into a zipper top bag first as the ends tend to open and graham cracker dust will poof out all over your kitchen. Ask me how I know.

Repeat until all sleeves of crackers are finely crushed. If you don't have a child handy to do your dirty work for you, a rolling pin will do the same job nicely.

Drain the pineapple juice out into a bowl or cup. Save this - it is liquid gold and if you throw it out... well, friendship over.

Dump all of the graham cracker crumbs and the pineapple (but not the juice) into a large bowl and stir them together. Add a tiny bit of the juice only if you need it to moisten the last of the dust in the bottom of the bowl. I usually end up adding about a teaspoon or so.

Pour that mix into whatever you want to serve the cake in. I've used square, round, oblong and obscenely shaped pans for this - it's good no matter what shape it is, so go crazy. Use the back of a spoon (or your hands if you're like me) to pat the dough down firmly and evenly.

Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. While that's in the fridge, pull your Cool Whip out of the freezer (if you're like me and buy 10 of them every time they're on sale).

When you're ready to serve, you have a tough decision to make. You can either spread an even layer of Cool Whip over the entire pan or you can scoop the cake out and dollop topping on each individual serving. I'm a rebel - I like to cover the whole top and then add a little more to each plate or bowl.

This is not one of those fancy schmancy desserts you make when you want to impress people (unless your people are like my people and appreciate simple perfection). This is the dessert to make when your cupboards are nearly bare and you need comfort food.

This is the dessert to make when the great grey beast that is February has sucked away your will to move from the couch and you really just need a bit of summer.

This is the dessert you let your 4 and 7 year olds make because they want to feel like big boys, but you want to maintain some semblance of sanity.

Really, this is the perfect dessert.

Mom, I can't thank you enough for introducing me to this!


Oh, by the way, that leftover juice - feel free to drink it, cook with it, freeze it into delicious ice cubes or give it to the child that so masterfully crushed your graham crackers. Just don't waste it.