Thanksgiving Dessert

My sister made this great and EASY dessert for our Thanksgiving meal this year.  It was a hit and I will  definitely make it again.  

8 ounces crisp gingersnap cookies
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin, chilled
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
About 1 1/4 cups caramel ice cream topping
1 quart vanilla ice cream, softened (Blue Bell, of course)
About 1 cup hot fudge sauce

Place about a third of the cookies in a zip-lock plastic bag, seal bag, and roll with a rolling pin until cookies are finely crushed; pour into a 9-inch cheesecake pan with removable rim (at least 2 in. tall). Repeat to crush remaining cookies (you need 1 3/4 cups total) and pour into pan. Add sugar and butter and mix. Press cookie mixture over bottom and about 1 inch up sides of pan.  Bake crust in a 325° regular or convection oven until lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool about 5 minutes, then chill or freeze until cold, 5 to 10 minutes.

In a chilled large bowl, mix pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and 1/4 cup of the caramel topping until smooth. Add ice cream and mix until blended.  Working quickly, spoon about a third of the ice cream mixture into the cold crust. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons caramel topping and 2 tablespoons fudge sauce (if fudge sauce is too stiff, warm slightly in a microwave oven at full power stirring once, 15 to 30 seconds) Repeat with two more layers. Freeze until solid, about 3 hours, then cover and freeze up to 1 week.  About 15 minutes before serving, remove sides from pan, set torte on a serving plate, and let stand in refrigerator to soften slightly. Cut into wedges.