Not exactly a cupcake...

... but it's wedding related, so I think it counts!

My fiance's aunt is going to be the officiant at our wedding. She works for a bank and is a notary, and as a matter of policy "doesn't do weddings," but in our case she was willing to make an exception. His aunt lives up North in the small, 2-stoplight town with the rest of the family on his mom's side, and hadn't yet visited us in the "big city."

It happened that she and her hubby were going to be in town Monday, and we invited them over to see the house and have some dessert. Had I more time to come up with a plan and a theme, I would have practiced my cupcake and fondant techniques. However, on short notice, I decided to opt for a family favorite instead -- mom's Buster Bar.

Buster Bar is so called for the Dairy Queen dessert of the same name, which is basically a vanilla ice cream treat on a stick with hot fudge and peanuts in the middle. In mom's version, an oreo cookie crust is layered in a 9x13 pan, topped with vanilla ice cream, spanish peanuts, and a homemade hot fudge sauce, then frozen solid and cut into squares.

This dessert is so good that I usually ask mom to make it in lieu of a birthday cake for me every June. My dad says "it's better than homemade sin" - whatever that means. Try this one for a summer gathering. You won't be disappointed!

"Mom's Truly Delicious and Magnificent Buster Bar" (this is how she labeled it in her email! The recipe below is hers, verbatim.)

Crust:
Crush 1 bag of Oreos
Add 1/2 cup melted butter
Mix and pack into 9x13 (or larger) pan.
Freeze.

Second Layer:
Cut 1 gallon vanilla ice cream into slices and lay on top of crust.
Smooth together.
Add 1 1/2 c. spanish peanuts over top.
Freeze.

Hot Fudge Sauce:
Boil for 8 minutes:
2 c powdered sugar
1 1/2 c milk
2/3 c chocolate chips
1/2 c butter
1 t vanilla
Cool to room temperature. Pour over top of peanuts and Freeze.

When I make this, I add the vanilla extract after the hot fudge sauce has cooled to room temp. The key to good Buster Bar is making sure that you freeze the layers in between, that the hot fudge sauce is truly at room temp when you spread it, and that the whole thing has at least 8 hours to set in the freezer before attempting to slice and serve.

You could also make this hot fudge sauce just to serve with ice cream on a hot summer day. It would be fabulous if you added a bit of coffee, or some raspberry flavoring, or even some orange zest.... yummm! Now I'm thinking I might need to go and make up a batch just for fun!