Food Friday--Chocolate Torte

So I homeschool my almost 15-year-old son and he has been part of a bowling league since he was 9~ish years old.  Sheesh, how did that many years go by already?  Anyway, at the end of each session, we have a pizza party for the kids and the adults all bring in desserts and side dishes and stuff like that and we just try to make it fun for us and for the kids.

This time, I decided to make a cold dessert, since it was snowing something cold made perfect sense somehow.  Yes, it snowed here.  In May.  My world has weird weather.  :)

Since this is a recipe I had not made before, I was slightly worried about how it would turn out, but I didn't need to.  It was good.  The 'cheesecake' layer could have been thicker so that it could be tasted better, but overall, it's not bad.  It even managed to earn the Grumpy Teen (tm) seal of approval.

What you need:

Chocolate Torte

1 package of Oreos, not Double Stuf, crushed.  (I used my food processor for this, but you could also place them in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin or wine bottle or your teenager's head if they are being frustrating.  I'm kidding of course about the teenager's head.  Kind of.)
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 8 ounce package Neufchatel cheese (lower fat cream cheese.  Feel free to use regular cream cheese)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons milk (I used fat free, you can use whatever you have)
1 12 ounce tub of Cool Whip, divided (or two 8 ounce tubs if your store does not carry the 12 ounce ones--again, I used the light kind, you can use the fat free or the regular)
2 small packages of instant chocolate pudding (Butterscotch would probably be good, too)
3 1/4 cups cold milk (Fat free for me, maybe not for you.)
Mini chocolate chips

What you do:

The first thing you should do is find a 13x9 inch baking dish and make sure it's clean.  Then, crush your Oreos and put them in the baking dish and add your melted butter.  Combine these two thoroughly and press  the Oreo mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan.  Put the pan in the refrigerator or freezer while you make the next layer.

Put your cream cheese into the bowl of a stand mixer, or use a hand mixer and beat it until it is light and fluffy, then add in 2 tablespoons of milk and the sugar and mix well.  Then add in 1 1/4 cups of Cool Whip and combine.  Take your crust out of the fridge or freezer and spread your 'cheesecake' mixture over it.

I am tasty no-bake cheesecake on top of crushed Oreos.  

Next, grab a good sized bowl (or wash out the bowl you just used to make the cream cheese mixture and use it for this too.  That's what I did) and combine your chocolate pudding mix with the 3 1/4 cups milk, whisking for several minutes, until the pudding starts to thicken.  Dump it onto the cream cheese layer and spread it around so that it completely covers the cream cheese.

Chocolate pudding almost done spreading.  The three little dots amuse me. 

Now, let it sit for about 5 minutes to let the pudding firm up a bit more.  You can refrigerate it or not, it doesn't seem to matter too much.

Next, spread the remaining Cool Whip over the pudding and sprinkle the top with mini chocolate chips.  Refrigerate for 4 hours or freeze for 1 hour before serving.

                                 
                                     Had I been thinking, I would have taken a picture of the side, so you could see the layers.



I just realized I have posted a few Oreo recipes now.  You guys probably think we eat tons of the silly things.  The truth is, I almost never buy Oreos.

This is Cornelius, the gratuitous ferret.