Sugar-free Chocolate "Tradeoff" Trifle

The reality is this: Sugar-free does not mean carb-free. Nor does it mean math-free. Doing truly low-carb dieting involves lots of counting and adding and measuring and research, and, well, Mommy don't got time for that. So I do the best I can, avoid what I know is truly bad, and sometimes, I choose to believe what the packaging tells me. It may mean that I am eating more carbs than I should have in a day and more chemicals than I would put on my face to banish wrinkles, but if I can suspend my disbelief long enough, I can eat this dish pretty much guilt free. And I want to. Because unlike pretty much EVERY low-carb chocolate chip cookie recipe I have EVER tried, it's actually good.

Materials

• 1 box of instant, sugar free chocolate pudding
• 1 box of instant, sugar free white chocolate (or vanilla, or whatever) pudding
• 4 cups milk
• 1 packet Starbucks Via
• 1 tub sugar-free Cool Whip*
• 1 box sugar-free Oreos**
• 8 oz sugar-free chocolate chips
• 8 oz heavy cream

Method

• Mix 2 cups of milk with each packet of pudding. Divide the container of cool whip and mix half into each batch of pudding. Add the Via packet to one of the pudding batches and stir until incorporated. 
• Put the heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for a minute. remove from the microwave, add the chocolate chips, and stir until smooth.***
• Twist open the Oreos and use the halves to make a single layer at the bottom of a casserole dish (I use an old round one, if you're working with squares I would stick with a 9x9).

• Pour one of the puddings over the cookie layer.
• Add another cookie layer.
• Drizzle half of the chocolate mixture over the cookie layer.

• Pour the other pudding over the cookie layer.
• Drizzle with remaining chocolate mixture.

• Hide in back of fridge for as long as you can stand it.

Confession

I tried to do a carb count on this. I am sure that most 12 year olds are better at math than I am and could correct me, but anyway, for 1/2 cup, I think it's around 11 grams of carbs. Not out of the park, but not horrible, either. IF you can stick to 1/2 cup. But I still don't feel bad, because really, this isn't the sprint of a Hollywood Cookie Diet, it's a marathon of saying "no thank you" when someone passes the rolls, and once in a while saying "OMG yes" to a milkshake because life is short. Consider this recipe somewhere in the middle.:)

*Even if your grocery store doesn't carry sugar-free, the regular stuff is actually pretty low-carb anyway. Just don't go for the extra creamy or fat-free versions, they have a lot more sugar.

**These can be tricky to find. Basically, if your store carries ANY sugar free cookies, you can use them.

***Hey, guess what? You just made ganache!!!!