Is that a dumb question? I'm going to try to make some homemade gingerbread for gingerbread houses and it calls for whipping cream... so what exactly is that?
Yes, very different. Cool Whip is made from oil, whipping cream made from milk. You can get heavy cream (whipping cream) in the dairy case. Totally different stuff.
Yes, they're different. Whipped/ing cream is actual cream. Cool whip is hydrogenated oil. You may be able to use either, depending on what you need it for.
Edited: I just read what you need it for and Cool Whip wouldn't work for your cookie recipe. Maybe I should read whole posts before I respond to them.