Somewhere Over the Rainbow

My FAVORITE non-baked dessert definately tastes like a pot of gold to me! My mom has been making this recipe for me for years. Each bite takes me back to childhood summers and to a world filled with munchkins (me and my friends), my childhood dog, and a yellowbrick road (our neighborhood street) that led us on many adventures.

I LOVE sherbert, especially Rainbow sherbert. You know the one with Lemon, Lime and Orange sherbert all swirled together. It is a light and refreshing welcomed change from Icecream when you are looking for a cool treat. Although the weather is in the single didgets I was craving this dessert. It is a true favorite of mine. This desert takes minimal time to prep and assemble but does require some chill time to firm up. But it is SOOOOO worth the wait.

You know I love recipes that you can tweak easily to make it your own and this recipe is no exception. A great thing about this recipe is that you can substitute any of your favorite ice cream, frozen yogurt or sherbert flavor for the Rainbow sherbert. We have used vanilla and pecan ice creams served with warm carmel drizzled over the top of each slice for an impressive dessert for company.

However, I have to admit, with the toasted nutty sweet crust I find icecream too rich and much prefer my Rainbow Sherbert in this recipe. Feel free to play around with different flavors of icecream to suit your own tastes, you really can't go wrong as the crust/topping will make it winner.

The crust and topping of this dessert take it over the top in my opinion. The perfect blend of brown sugar, butter, cereal, coconut and nuts perfectly toasted provide a droolworthy base and crubly topping for this dessert. I have been known to make extra crust/topping and eat with a spoon! It is THAT good. You could even make the crust/topping and store in an airtight container in your fridge and use as a topping for scoops of icecream or sherbert for a quick and tastey weeknight dessert.

Frozen Dream Crunch Bars

10 TBS butter, melted (1 stick plus 2 TBS)

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 3/4 cups Rice Krispies

1 cup flaked coconut

1 cup slivered almonds (or other favorite nut, like pecans)

3/4-1 gallon Rainbow Sherbert, softened (or other fave icecream flavor)

Preheat oven to 325.

Lightly spray a baking sheet with PAM spray. Place frozen Sherbert on counter or in fridge to soften.
Toast the almonds by spreading slivered almonds evenly over baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes, stirring after 4 mintues. Remove from oven. Increase oven temperature to 375.

While nuts are toasting, melt butter in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until melted.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together butter, cereal, brown sugar, coconut and toasted nuts.

Spread mixture on a baking sheet.

Bake in oven 10 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes for even browning. Watch carefully and do not let burn. Let cool completely.

Press 2/3 of cooled mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Gently spread softened sherbert over crust. Sprinkle remaining mixture evenly over Sherbert layer, cover tightly and freeze until set.