A Southern Grace: long live the queen

January 18, 2016

long live the queen

Yum

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!

24 comments:

Angie's Recipes said...

This looks ever so scrumptious with crumbled oreos!

Marjie said...

It looks like a great dessert, and your dog looks like he wants to eat the camera. You must have been holding up a treat next to it?

Kate said...

What a cutie (your dog, I mean!) That cake looks irresistible too, although I can't pass up anything Oreo. :)

Pam said...

Your dog seriously looks a lot like my dog! What type is it? Ours is a mutt and we only have guesses as to what type of dog she is.

The Oreo cake looks drool worthy. YUM.

You won a bottle of R.W. Knudsen juice on my blog. E-mail me your mailing address so they can mail you your bottle. Congratulations, Grace!

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

I've never seen this before but I'm totally into it from the description alone!! :D

Katerina said...

I live in the suburbs of the capital of Greece and I think this is a good compromise between city life and country life. This is a new sweet to me but it looks utterly delicious!

Kate @ Framed Cooks said...

North Carolina is the BEST - my daughter lives right outside of Cary, and we love visiting her! Meantime, maybe the next time I visit her we will make dirt cake!

Barbara said...

Your pup is no longer a pup! What a cutie. Was he hoping for a bite?
Love Charlotte...and the airport there! Also love dirt cake.

Cheri Savory Spoon said...

Hi Grace, never heard of dirt cake, but it sure looks delicious. Your dog baby is adorable!

Natalie @ Obsessive Cooking Disorder said...

What a cute pup! I've been to Charlotte many years ago when it was a lot quieter, but I'm sure it's equally charming. I'm a city girl myself though sometimes it's great to get away from the hustle

--Natalie

Big Rigs 'n Lil' Cookies said...

This sounds REALLY good. Kinda wishing I had some Oreo's in the house right now!
Charlotte? Not to be creepie, but is that the city that has the big zombie walk, too? My cousin use to head up to NC for that event, and I think it was Charlotte?

Food Gal said...

I remember this kind of cake from when I was a kid. It was especially fun because it gave you an excuse to buy Oreos (as if one needed one!), so you could munch on all the leftover cookies. Thanks for the sweet memories.

lisa is cooking said...

This is a cloud of sweet fun! Love the idea of adding crunchy toffee bits too. Looks delicious by any name.

Unknown said...

Looks absolutely delicious !

Gabrielle

Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic said...

This looks delicious! I would love the crunchy crushed Oreos and the smooth creamy filling together!

Inger @ Art of Natural Living said...

Alas I will forever associate this cake with kids and gummy worms. Yours does look better though!

Marcela said...

YUM! The cake looks scrumptious! I totally love the recipe!

Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl said...

This cake is making me swoon! I moved from a small town to a big city when I was 18. Now I'm 32 and I realize almost half of my life has been spent that way. I'm so used to the hustle and bustle and horns that silence kinda freaks me out!

Marcela said...


Queen City Dirt Cake looks insane! I love the crunchiness of cookies and the smooth filling together!
Yum!

Marcelle said...

I could eat way too much of this! Yumm!! I have to make it soon lol

Beth said...

Sounds yummy! And I'll be cheering for your football team this afternoon!

cat said...

This looks amazing...i may have to make it today!

~~louise~~ said...

WOW! It's been soooooo long since I've made or had dirt cake. Oh the delicious memories. I always made it with chocolate pudding but never Heath bits. What a GREAT idea.

Coming from a place like Long Island, central PA is not the bustling town I was use to. It seems with time I have gotten use to it. I'm almost afraid to visit Long Island it may drive me crazy with all the noise and traffic! I do miss it though sometimes, especially the food:)

Your puppy looks like he means business, Grace. I bet he saw that dirt cake and thought oh yum!!!

Thanks for sharing, Grace...

P.S. I don't know if your a Southern Living tpe of girl but if you are, you might want to check out their February issue. It's their Golden Anniversary!

foodhoe said...

I love oreos, and especially ice cream cake with oreos, which this resembles greatly. Looks good, and your town sounds like a great place to live!