OREO Frozen Peanut Butter Dessert

We like this dessert a lot. It's simple, and always a hit. I like to make it a day ahead so that it's one less thing to worry about at meal time. Last time I made it, it was Cooper's blessing day and it went well. I also made hummus from scratch that day and that was a hit as well. I'll share my recipe for that soon, too (I improvised on that one from a bunch of different recipes). And now back to the dessert.

total time: 4 hours 45 min
prep: 15 min
servings: 24 (so says the original recipe, but mine never goes that far) :)

ingredients:
30 OREO cookies finely crushed - WITH FILLING (another use for my food processor)
3 Tbsp Butter (that's what the original recipe called for, but I used about twice that to really make the crust stick together)
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 3/4 qt. vanilla ice cream - softened
1 8 oz. tub of Cool Whip (DO NOT THAW)
6 Squares Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate
1/2 cup coarsely chopped peanuts

MIX

mix crushed cookies and the butter. press firmly into a 9x13 pan. stick the crust in the freezer until ready to use. microwave the peanut butter in a microwaveable bowl on HIGH for 1 minute, stir. Swirl peanut butter into ice cream; spread over crust. freeze for 30 min

microwave cool whip and chocolate on HIGH for 1 1/2 to 2 min. until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended (stirring after each minute)

spread cool whip mixture over ice cream. top with peanuts, if desired. freeze for 4 hours. let stand at room temperature to soften slightly before serving.

SUBSTITUTE one cup of caramel ice cream topping for chocolate/cool whip mixture if preferred.