Chocolate Lasagna

I always try to make a little something special for Nicholas' birthday, and this year he requested Chocolate Lasagna.

Chocolate Lasagna? WTF? Chocolate mixed with pasta and meat sauce? That reminds me of the episode of Friends where Rachael made half of an English Trifle and half of a Shepherd's Pie into one dish.

Not so much the case on this one. Chocolate Lasagna is layers of deliciousness upon deliciousness...no pasta or meat sauce in site.

Let's go on a step-by-step journey of this concoction in pictures before I give you the recipe.

Step 1: Pulverize Oreo cookies, mix in melted butter, smush into pan:

Step 2: Beat cream cheese, sugar, milk, and Cool Whip and spread over cookie base:

Step 3: Make the chocolate pudding and pour that over the cream cheese mixture, put into the fridge for a few minutes to set:

Step 4: Take a look at the disaster that has accumulated in your sink:

Step 5: Looks a little something like this when you realize all of the washing you have to do:

Step 6: But then you look down and notice you didn't make a mess out of your JCrew sweater when you were cooking, so you give yourself a thumbs up:

Step 7: Top the entire thing with Cool Whip and chocolate chips and ENJOY!

Here's a side view of the layers...that's why it's called Chocolate Lasagna...because it has layers like an actual lasagna! Clever, no?

That reminds me. Remember in the movie Shrek when the man himself said that "Ogres are like onion because they both have layers" Well, in my world, ogres are like chocolate lasagna because they both have layers!

Here's the recipe!

Chocolate Lasagna (from Center Cut Cook)

1 package regular Oreo cookies (Not Double Stuff) – about 36 cookies 6 Tablespoon butter, melted 1- 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup granulated sugar 2 Tablespoons cold milk 1- 12 ounce tub Cool Whip, divided 2 – 3.9 ounce packages Chocolate Instant Pudding. 3 1/4 cups cold milk 1 and 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

Directions

1. Begin by crushing 36 Oreo cookies. I used a mini food chopper for this, but you could also place them in a large ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling-pin. When the Oreos have turned into fine crumbs, you are done.
2. Transfer the Oreo crumbs to a large bowl. Stir in 6 tablespoons melted butter and use a fork to incorporate the butter into the cookie crumbs. When the butter is distributed, transfer the mixture to a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan. Place the pan in the refrigerator while you work on the additional layers.
3. Mix the cream cheese with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add in 2 Tablespoons of milk, and sugar, and mix well. Stir in 1 and 1/4 cups Cool Whip. Spread this mixture over the crust.
4. In a bowl, combine chocolate instant pudding with 3 and 1/4 cups cold milk. Whisk for several minutes until the pudding starts to thicken. Use a spatula to spread the mixture over the previous cream cheese layer. Allow the dessert to rest for about 5 minutes so that the pudding can firm up further.
5. Spread the remaining Cool Whip over the top. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips evenly over the top. Place in the freezer for 1 hour, or the refrigerator for 4 hours before serving.