New Year's...

Story:  For Christmas this year, I made lots of baked goody platters.  I gave one to our neighbor and in return, I got a taste of a classic Aussie dessert.  I thought it was a multi-layered cake.  Lots of icing.  Delicious.  I had no idea it was cookies!!!  This is a true 'cookies and cream' dessert.  There are a lot of little extras you can do to this dessert - food coloring in the cream, a Bailey's dip for every other cookie, ginger snap cookies instead of chocolate ripple cookies.  


We went to a friends house for New Year's Eve and I made this to take over.  It was a hit!!  I sliced a pint of strawberries and sprinkled the top with cocoa powder.  It was very very good.  


If I can find lemon or strawberry cookies, this would be a perfect summer dessert.  The chocolate was great, don't get me wrong, but something about lemons and strawberries that cools you down a bit more on a hot summer day.  


Recipe:  
Double recipe fits perfect in a square pyrex :)
500ml thickened cream
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 x 250g packet Arnott’s Choc Ripple Biscuits (very hard cookies)

• Place cream, sugar and vanilla in a bowl and beat using an electric beater until stiff.
• Spread some cream along the bottom and sides of the dish.  Begin assembling the dessert by 'icing' a cookie and placing it in the dish.  Keep going until the dish is full...you may have to eat a couple of the 'leftover' cookies that won't fit ;) 
• Spread remaining cream to cover the dessert entirely. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours to set.  
• Just before serving, dust with cocoa or grated choc.  
• Extras: Dip every other cookie in your favorite liqueur before sandwiching together.  Or replace vanilla with 1 tsp of espresso or strong coffee or your favorite liqueur such as irish cream, hazelnut or citrus liqueur.  My neighbor used coconut essence for hers...

- MLM