Surprise...redone!

When I was little, my mom served a dessert one night when my cousins were over.  It was a dessert with a shortbread pecan crust topped with chocolate pudding, cream cheese mixture, and cool whip.  Well, my cousin Joe decided that it would be fun to tell my brother, then about 2-3 years old, that the dessert smelled good and that he should smell it.  Well, he did and....SMACK!  Joe slammed his face into the dessert.  It "exploded" all over the living room, Philip screamed, and Aunt Margaret made not only Joe but his brother and sister clean up the mess!  Ever since that day, we called that dessert "Joe's surprise!"

  A couple of months ago, I found a recipe on pinterest that was exactly like that dessert except that the base was chocolate chip cookie instead of shortbread.  Well, I thought that D would really like it, so I pinned it.  Come December, I decided that it would be the perfect dessert for Christmas.  Everyone liked it!  My dad, I think, preferred the shortbread crust but D, of course, loved the chocolate chip cookie crust.  :-)  I love when he likes what I make!!  I didn't have two chocolate puddings but used one chocolate and one (random) pumpkin.   It added a little cinnamon to the mix.  Yum!  This really is a GREAT dessert!  Try for yourself.  I think it may have to go into the rotation of desserts D likes, along with the brownie trifle he loves.  :-)

Joe's Surprise Remade a.k.a. Chocolate Chip Cookie Delight adapted from Taste of Home
Ingredients:
1 tube (16-1/2 ounces) refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough or one recipe chocolate chip cookies (about 2/3 dough used)
1 package (8 ounces) 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 carton (12 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
3 cups cold skim milk
1 package (3.9 ounces) instant chocolate pudding mix (sugar free)
1 package (3.4 ounces) instant pumpkin/vanilla pudding mix (sugar free)

Preheat oven to 350.  Press cookie dough into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Fold in 1-3/4 cups whipped topping. Spread over crust.

In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes then refrigerate for 30-60 minutes. Spread over cream cheese layer. Top with remaining whipped topping. Sprinkle with nuts and chocolate curls if desired. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours...will be more firm if you have time to refrigerate overnight.  Enjoy!

Yield: 15 servings.