A creamy and crunchy, no-bake sweet treat

I pinned this peanut butter cookie layer dessert recipe on Pinterest a while ago from Hugs and Cookies. Just a few ingredients are needed for this delightful treat.

Ingredients for Peanut Butter Cookie Layer Dessert

The recipe calls for Vanilla pudding, but the store I shopped at this weekend only had French Vanilla, so I made a substitution. During this COVID-19 pandemic, some items are only available in limited quantity, so you have to take what you can get.

Start by lining an 8 x 8 pan with the Nutter Butter cookies. Resist the temptation to snack on the cookies as you layer them because you will need all the cookies for this one. Next, drizzle the melted peanut butter over the first layer. I used the MELT setting on my microwave to avoid cooking the peanut butter.

Then add the prepared pudding mixture, using only half. Followed by the whipped topping. My Cool Whip was still a little stiff from being in the cooler at the grocery store. I should have let it thaw a little more before spreading it over the pudding. To warm it up, I stirred it vigorously to help make it easier to spread.

Next, add another layer in the same fashion. Drizzle the top layer with the remaining melted peanut butter and top with chopped Reese’s. I used the minis, which was super easy to chop them up. In the original post, it showed the chopped Reese’s throughout the layers, I didn’t catch this until later. Next time I will definitely layer them throughout, rather than just using them as a topping. You can never have enough Reese’s.

This process was not a pretty sight. While trying to mix the pudding and the whipped topping, I anticipated a Pinterest fail. Fortunately, it turned out just fine and tasted amazing. The recipe suggests chilling for at least 24 hours to soften the cookies and help make them easier to serve. We couldn’t wait a full day, dug in after only a few hours of chill time, and had no issues.

Enjoy!