Chocolate Layer Dessert

Halloween is just around the corner. Are you ready? My boys are certainly excited. I actually love Halloween too. I love decorating for it, I love making cool costumes for my boys to wear, and of course I love all the fun and yummy foods you can make. Starting on Monday, I will be sharing some of my favorite Halloween recipes with you. Some are cute, some are creepy, but all of them are yummy! Hope you'll tune in.

For now, I'm sharing another recipe from my cooking fest last weekend. (Yes, I know, we were gluttons.) This recipe has been one of my very favorite desserts since I was a little girl. I can't make it very often because I absolutely cannot stay away from it. It is sinfully delicious with the buttery crisp crust, the creamy layers, and of course the chocolate. So darn addicting!! This time I just made half a recipe because I knew there would be serious trouble if there was half a pan of leftovers sitting in the fridge the next day.

Another thing I love about this dessert is that it is totally versatile. I have made it with chocolate, coconut, butterscotch, and pistachio pudding, and they are all delicious. It is a great dessert to serve company because it looks like you spent a lot of time, but really it is pretty easy. The original recipe calls for walnuts in the crust, but I used pecans because that's what I had. It's yummy either way.

Chocolate Layer Dessert

Crust:

1 cup flour

2 Tbsp sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (like walnuts or pecans)

Layer 1:

8oz pkg cream cheese, softened (I used light)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup cream, whipped and sweetened (Save half for the top layer)

Layer 2:

2 3oz boxes of instant chocolate pudding

2 1/2 cups milk

Layer 3:

Whipped cream

Chocolate curls (optional)

For crust: Mix all ingredients together well and press into the bottom of a glass 9×13" pan. Bake at 375 for about 12-15 minutes or till very lightly browned. Let cool completely.

Layer 1: Whip the 1 cup of cream till it holds soft peaks. Add sugar and vanilla to taste. (I don't like it really sweet.) Set it aside. Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar till smooth and creamy. Fold in only about half of the whipped cream. Spread on top of cooled crust. Cover the bowl of remaining whipped cream and place it in the refrigerator.

Layer 2: Beat the pudding and milk for about 1 minute. Quickly pour over the cream cheese layer. Cover with plastic wrap and chill till pudding is set, about 1 hour.

Layer 3: Carefully spread the remaining whipped cream over the pudding layer. Top with chocolate curls if desired.

Notes:

-You can use an 8oz container of Cool Whip in place of the sweetened whipped cream. I just like cream better because I can pronounce all of the ingredients in it.