In the spirit of Oreo cookie’s 100th birthday, we’re going to make an Oreo trifle today. Trifle are such great desserts to bring to a party; they usually feed a lot of people and they have a big “wow” factor. The scallops created by the Oreos make this trifle extra pretty. It’s not hard to do, but you will dirty quite a few bowls (that’s the downside of making any trifle; they aren’t hard work to make, just to clean up!) Here’s how to make this:

 

Here are the ingredients (the quantities in the recipe are correct despite what the picture shows):

2 packs of regular Oreo cookies

2 pints of heavy cream

2 packs of cream cheese

1 box (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 cups milk

2 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup powdered sugar

 

The first thing you’ll need to do is clear a space in your fridge for this monster. There is nothing worse than being ready to refrigerate something and having to spend 20 minutes cleaning the fridge out while you’re supposed to be going on to the next step of your recipe.

OK, now crush the Oreos. You will want to crush about 1 1/3-1 1/2 bags of cookies. Use the rest as accent cookies. The easiest way is to throw them in your food processor for a minute or two. Your next best choice is to put them in a sturdy ziploc bag and go at them with a rolling pin. If the bag starts to get holes just put it in a second bag. Kids love to do this. If you have any “helpers” this is a perfect job for them. There won’t be any doubt who will win this showdown.

 

 

Once your Oreos have become pulverized, separate them into two bowls. They don’t need to be perfectly equal; just eyeball it. Set one bowl of Oreos aside. To the other you will add your melted butter.

 

Stir up the melted butter and Oreos and press them into the bottom of a trifle bowl. If you don’t have a trifle bowl, a clear glass bowl will work well too. Once I even used a big glass vase. If you’d like to buy a trifle bowl, I’d suggest checking your local thrift store. Lots of people give them away because they rarely use them.

Now here’s where the fancy part comes in. To make the pretty scallops along the sides, you’ll want to use Oreos that have been cut in half. Here’s the best way to do it. Separate the Oreos that you didn’t crush so you have one side with filling and one without. You’ll want to gently try to break each Oreo side in half.  Don’t use a knife!  Sometimes you can cut the side with filling and it will work OK. But the plain side will definitely shatter. Just break them in half with your hands and hope for the best.

After you’ve got several halves, arrange them printed-side facing out around the top of the Oreo layer. Chill this in your fridge for about 15 minutes.

While the trifle is chilling you’ll make your whipped cream. Put both pints of cream in a bowl with the vanilla and the powdered sugar. Turn your mixer on high and whip until soft peaks form.

After that’s all whipped up you’ll need to whip both sticks of cream cheese. You’ll either need another bowl for your mixer (if you have one) or you’ll need your hand mixer for this job. You might be tempted to skip this step but don’t! You’ll have huge lumps of cream cheese in your trifle if you do.

 

Once your cream cheese is lovely and smooth, dump it into the whipped cream and fold them together gently.

Spread half of the whipped cream mixture onto the trifle. Refrigerate the remaining half.

Next you’ll make your pudding layer. In a medium-sized bowl combine two cups of milk with the pudding mix. Beat on high for about two minutes.

Pour the pudding over the whipped cream layer of the trifle. Chill for ten minutes.

Next it’s time to add the remaining crushed Oreo. Spread them neatly over the pudding layer.

Again we’ll take Oreo halves and split them in two and place them around the top edge of the Oreo layer.

Spoon the remaining whipped cream mixture over the crushed Oreos. Smooth it nicely. Neatness counts!

Garnish with extra Oreos and chill for at least three hours. I think this trifle tastes best the next day after the flavors have had a chance to meld a little.

I hope your family likes this dessert as much as mine does!