WOW! I made this two times - once exactly according to recipe, and second with a few alterations. The recipe version was fantastic, and I did not think it was too sweet. It was very rich, and I thought there was a strong cool whip flavor, and not enough chocolate. Nonetheless, it was delicious and everyone agreed. The second time I followed some suggestions here, and the dessert won me first place in a contest this weekend! I mixed the pudding and water, and in a separate bowl whipped 1/2 pint heavy cream and 3 tbsp sugar, then folded in the cream with the pudding/water. I also did use the french vanilla cool whip in place of the plain (12 oz). So, I layered brownies, caramel, heath toffee bits, chocolate whipped cream, and french vanilla cool whip. Repeat! It was PHENOMENAL. I had so many requests for the recipe, and I saw numerous people going back for 2nds and 3rds. It was a major hit, and will be a staple dessert dish for me! Thank you!!

This review is a little late but this recipe is EXCELLENT! I made it first for a fake thanksgiving a week early with family that was going out of town, it was very good, but I don't like whipped topping and I found it had entirely too much of that. So i made it again for Thanksgiving the next week and it was soooo amazing! But I made a few adjustments... in the brownie layer I addred about half a bottle of caramel topping (as you would use on ice cream) in the brownie pan before it went into the oven. (really good...) then in the pudding layer, instead of folding in the whipped topping, i bought half a pint of heavy whipping cream and whipped that for about 10 minutes myself and then folded that into the pudding. It made such an incredible difference. The pudding tasted so mych richer, like custard, instead of fluffy like whipped topping. I also added bailey's in the pudding and cut strawberries, chocolate chunks - per my husband's request, and toffee bits, which made it look so pretty. But you can add pretty much anything you want and it still tastes EXCELLENT! EVERYONE who tried it loved it and my mother-in-law asked for the recipe, along with everyone else. Always nice to confirm that her son didn't make a mistake marrying me:-) YOU HAVE TO TRY THIS DESSERT, YUMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is now known among our friends as "The Dessert". Before every party, I'm asked if I'm bringing "The Dessert". It is so good! I use the brownie mixes that have some sort of chunk in them (ie. triple chocolate chunk brownies, chocolate peanut butter cup). I also whip up one cup of heavy whipping cream and add that to the condensed milk/water/pudding mix instead of using cool whip. I think this helps to make sure the sweetness isn't overdone. And for the cool whip layer, I use French Vanilla flavor instead of plain, because it gives the whole dish more flavor. You have GOT to try this, and try it my way because like I said, it's getting quite a cult following!

I had great expectations for this recipe which has such high reviews. I wasn't impressed with the "synthetic" taste of instant pudding and cool whip. It was too sweet and had a syrupy, filmy mouthfeel. I think it would be worthwhile to use cooked pudding, cooled of course, and real whipped cream which can be prepared simply by beating 1 cup of cream with 1/4 cup powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla.

This was an excellent and attractive dessert! I used fudgy brownie mix (be sure not to use the mix you pour the chocolate syrup in yourself or the brownies will be too gooey for the trifle). I gave it four stars because I didn't use the 8oz frozen whipped topping in the pudding mixture. As other reviews advised, I whipped 1/2 pint heavy whipping cream and folded that in the pudding mixture instead. I think it's better this way to avoid the dessert being TOO SWEET! This is a great recipe, and I will definitely make again...but I'll be making it my way.

This is an easy, delicious, and pretty dessert. If you opt to use a trifle bowl as opposed to a regular glass bowl, you might want to third the brownies and pudding mix instead of half them for the layers. Trifle bowls are tall, and you will run out of brownies for more than two layers. Also, I topped this with mini chocolate chips instead of shaved chocolate. A lot easier.

So tasty and so easy to make! I brought this to a neighborhood holiday party and everyone loved it. I refrigerated the pudding after I mixed it with the water, condensed milk and cool whip. It thickened it up and made it easy to spread into a nice layer. (Also made for yummy clean-up with a spoon for my 5 year old!) And instead of cutting the brownies into 1 inch squares, I wound up crumbling them with my hands to provide smaller bite-size pieces. I also garnished the top with fresh raspberries. It was delicious! I wonder how it would be if you substituted some Bailey's for the water? ;) I'll bet strong coffee would also be good in place of the water. I think I'll try some variations in the future.

I needed a quick, easy dessert that would please a large group of people, each with their own picky tastes. Who wouldn't love this? They all did. :) This is a safe and pretty dessert. Pleases just about everybody, and is fool proof to make. I topped this with Heath Bars.

Very good dessert. Light and easy to prepare. The next time I will try choclate cake instead of brownie mix. I think I will like the texture of the cake part better. My family loved it.

This was absolutely delicious! I substituted bailey's irish cream liquer for 1/4 cup of the water. Yum!!!