Time for one of my favorite summertime desserts!
The first time I ever ate this desserts it was totally out of respect for my mother-in- law and an effort to be polite. She had made it for a family gathering and of course, offered me a piece. I have to tell the truth and say I couldn’t imagine that it could possibly taste good, I mean who actually eats pistachios?
But I didn’t want to hurt her feelings (not that her feelings are so easily hurt,now that I think about it), so I said sure, thinking “I’m a grown woman, certainly I can get through one little plate of pistachios and cream.” And I took a little bite.
I may have actually fallen out of my chair.
Oooooh my, this stuff is good!
I now take it to potlucks, picnics, and wherever I can get away with taking it. And I always come home with a clean dish. (I try to get in line first so I can be sure to get a piece. Nothing selfish or nerdy about that!)
My only problem with it is that yes, it does call for Cool Whip. Which, in all reality, isn’t real food. So, I’m going to try replacing the Cool Whip with real whipped cream. I think it will work just fine. It might not be as stiff but I bet there are ways around that. If you try it with real whipped cream would you please (pretty please with a pistachio on top) come back and tell me how it worked?
I promise you’re going to love this dessert.
- Crust Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped nuts
- 1 stick butter, softened
- Filling Ingredients
- 1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 (8 oz) containers Cool
- Whip-thawed
- 2 (3½ oz) Pkg. *pistachio instant pudding
- 3 cups milk
- *You can use chocolate instead for a whole different dessert. (But do try it this way, it's so much better!)
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Combine crust ingredients and mix thoroughly
- Press into a 9 x 13 inch pan
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly brown (watch carefully)
- Cool completely
- Filling Directions
- In a mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, and 1 pkg. Cool Whip, mix well
- Spread over cooled cake layer
- Refrigerate
- Combine pudding and milk, beat 3 minutes at low speed, until well blended
- Spread over the cream cheese layer
- Refrigerate again
- After pudding is set, spread remaining container of Cool Whip over the top
- Chill until ready to serve
For more yummy dessert recipes, follow my Desserts board:
Follow Beth Cranford/Eat Better Spend Less’s board Desserts on Pinterest.
I always make mine with whipped cream. Just whip it super thick – right before it turns to butter. If you dont want to risk turning your cream to butter you can purchase a stabilizer in your grocery store bakery aisle. Here it’s called whip it. I’ve never had to do so myself, just getting it to that super stiff peaks look is all I’ve ever needed. I hate cool whip – so whipped cream was my only option
That’s so good to know! I wish I had tried that before I made these. I don’t make them often because I can’t stay out of them! But I’ll definitely try it. This is the only recipe I EVER use Cool Whip in and I’d love to not use it at all. And if I make butter in the process, well, I guess we’ll put it on toast and start over!