long live the queen

I'm slowly but surely becoming quite fond of the city I now call home.

I was a small town girl for nearly 90% of my life*, and I'm pretty sure I'll always describe myself as such. My last few years have been spent in Charlotte, NC, a rapidly growing city that is drastically different from the quiet country life I used to experience. It seems that there is always traffic, people are everywhere, there is never silence, and everyone has a dog (including us!).

*Incidentally, many of those years were spent in two of the ten towns listed among these best Southern small towns!

On the upside, the Panthers are dominating (knock on wood), there are endless restaurants to try, I'm becoming a very aggressive skillful driver (knock on wood), something fun is always happening, the climate is just right, and...everyone has a dog. Though this cake is known to most as the Kansas City Dirt Cake, I've decided to rename it just this once, in honor of my new(ish) city.

If you happen to be unfamiliar with a dirt cake, it's basically crumbled Oreo cookies beneath and on top of a creamy, fluffy, just-sweet-enough filling. If that sounds freakin' awesome to you, you are a person of good taste. While this dessert feels decadent without being overly rich and is certainly delicious, I will admit that my #1 taster and I agreed that something crunchy ensconced in the creamy filling would make it even better. He suggested Heath bits, and I concur.

I used vanilla pudding, but I think white chocolate would be tasty too. I suspect someone out there has made it with chocolate pudding, but that's just too much chocolate for me. Next time I'd also probably increase the amount of Oreo crumbs and add the aforementioned Heath bits. Though this does get better after some time in the fridge, don't push it--the cookies get soggier with each passing day and you might be left with a dessert having no texture at all!

Queen City Dirt Cake
(printable recipe)
Makes 12-16 servings
Ingredients:

• 1 (14.3-ounce) package Oreo cookies
• 8 ounces cream or Neufchâtel cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 (16-ounce) container whipped topping, thawed
• 2 (3.5-ounce) boxes instant white chocolate or vanilla pudding
• 3 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Crush the Oreo cookies in a blender or food processor.
Put half of the crushed cookies on the bottom of a greased 9x13-inch pan.
Mix together the pudding and milk as instructed on the box; chill until set.
In a separate bowl, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar until smooth.
Fold in the prepared pudding and whipped topping.
Spread this mixture over the cookie crumbs, then top with remaining cookie crumbs.
Freeze or refrigerate at least 8 hours before serving.
Note: I halved the recipe and put it in a 7x11-inch dish, and it worked out just fine!