(Delicious) Adventures Making Dirt Pudding

Someone mentioned Dirt Pudding a while ago, and then I HAD TO HAVE SOME.  So, I unearthed the recipe someone gave me when I was in college and made it.  Now, it's been a while since I was in college, so I can't remember if the person who gave me the recipe said there were any typos, but, after looking up the recipe online, I'm pretty sure the amount of butter listed was a typo.  I have made this a few times, trying to get it just right.

FIRST TRY:  The original recipe said

8 oz. softened cream cheese, not low fat
1 1/4 C. soft margarine (I used butter and it was TOO MUCH BUTTER!)
1 C. Powdered Sugar
3 1/2 C. milk
2 small packages instant chocolate pudding (I used one large package because I didn't have 2 small packages)
12 oz. Cool Whip (I used the light whipping cream that comes in a spray can instead)
1-20 oz. package of Oreo cookies (Hmmm, Oreos come in a 15.5 oz. package now:  SNEAKY SHRINKAGE!)

Blend cream cheese and margarine in mixing bowl, add powdered sugar, milk, powdered pudding, and Cool Whip.  Put in flower pot to set up or in small dishes or large bowl*.  Use food processor to crush up the package of Oreos and sprinkle on top.  You may want to start with crushing 1/2 the package and adding more if desired (HA ha ha ha ha ha ha! Just crush the entire package.).  For tricking purposes, stick a plant with roots wrapped in a baggie in the middle or use plastic plant or flowers.

*Instead of pouring all of the pudding mix in a large bowl and putting the Oreo crumbs on top, I layered the pudding and Oreo crumbs to get a more pleasing distribution of Oreos through the pudding.

RESULTS:  I thought there was TOO MUCH BUTTER, and it was VERY SWEET.  I liked the results from layering the pudding and Oreos instead of putting all of the Oreos on the top.
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SECOND TRY:  This time I used

8 oz. softened cream cheese
1/4 C. soft butter
(completely left out the powdered sugar thinking there was enough sugar in the pudding mix and whipped cream)
3 1/2 C. milk
1 large package instant chocolate pudding
12 oz. light whipping cream in a can (I sprayed it into my glass measuring cup until it was at the 12 oz. mark as I do not believe that precision is vital to this recipe's success)
1-15.5 oz. package of Oreo cookies 

RESULTS:  I liked the amount of butter this time, but it wasn't sweet enough.  There was a definite, noticeable difference between the sweetness of the Oreos and the not-as-sweet pudding.
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THIRD TRY: This time I used

8 oz. softened cream cheese
1/4 C. soft butter
1/2 C. powdered sugar
3 1/2 C. milk
1 large package instant chocolate pudding
12 oz. light whipping cream in a can (I sprayed it into my glass measuring cup until it was at approximately the 12 oz. mark as I do not believe that precision is vital to this recipe's success)
1-15.5 oz. package of Oreo cookies

RESULTS:  Again, I layered the pudding mixture with the crushed Oreos, and I even made the layers thinner than before so there were more of them.  I was very happy with the results this time!!  The pudding mixture was slightly sweet, not overwhelmingly sweet, so I could actually taste the delicious CREAM CHEESE AND CHOCOLATE flavor instead of just a SWEET flavor.  This is the recipe I will use from now on!