Extreme Birthday Dessert

What's the best part about celebrating birthdays?  Having a good excuse to whip together an incredibly unhealthy (but extremely delicious) dessert that comes in at around 100,000 calories per serving.  This past year my family came up to Manhattan for a K-State football game the day before my birthday, so I had them over to my apartment after the game for my birthday celebration. As I may have mentioned previously, I feel that peanut butter and chocolate is the best combination ever invented, which is why I chose this Peanut Butter Chocolate Dessert to celebrate my 22nd year. Plus, I was able to put it all together before the game, stick it in the fridge, and come back to enjoy it after the Wildcats' victory.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Dessert

Ingredients

20 Oreos

2 Tbsp. margarine, softened

1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 16-oz. carton whipped topping, thawed

16 miniature Reese's peanut butter cups, chopped

1 cup cold milk

1 3.9-oz. package instant chocolate fudge pudding mix

Directions

1. Crush 16 Oreos; toss with margarine.  Press into a 9" square dish and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, and 1 cup of powdered sugar until smooth.  Fold in half of the whipped topping.

3. Spread the cream mixture over the Oreo crust.  Sprinkle with chopped Reese's.

4. In another large bowl, beat the milk, pudding mix, and remaining 1/2 cup of powdered sugar on low speed for 2 minutes.  Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set.

5. Fold in the remaining half of whipped topping.  Spread pudding mixture over the peanut butter cup layer.  

6. Crush the 4 remaining Oreos and sprinkle over the top.  Cover and chill for at least 3 hours.

My Notes: I used a little more than the 1/2 cup of peanut butter to really bump up the peanut butter flavor.  Instead of miniature Reese's, I used 6 snack size Reese's cups for the filling and 4 additional snack size Reese's cups for the topping (along with 5 crushed Oreos). This recipe is from the Taste of Home website.

And here's a photo of my sister and me cheering on the 'Cats to victory over Texas Tech prior to my birthday celebration. We're smiling so big because we know that - win or lose - we will still have a delicious dessert waiting for us after the game!