recipe of the week - Chocolate Delight

This is a dessert that has been around for ages.  Mom first discovered it in an issue of Southern Living in the late 70's or early 80's.  It was a dessert staple in our household.  It is one of those desserts that i took for granted growing up.  i always enjoyed it, but now that i've started to make it myself, i appreciate it so much more.  i think it's because it brings back a flood of memories for me.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Delight

1.5 cups of flour
1/2 cup of butter
1 cup chopped pecans, divided
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup of powdered sugar
1 tub of whipped topping, divided
2.5 cups of milk
3 sm packages of instant chocolate pudding

To make the crust, combine flour, butter and 1/2 cups of pecans into a dough and press into the bottom of an 8x12 pan.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, then let it cool completely.

1st layer - mix together cream cheese, powdered sugar and 1 cup of whipped topping.  Spread this over your cooled crust.

2nd layer - whisk together milk and pudding until nice and thick.  Spread over cream cheese layer.

Then combine remaining  whipped topping and pecans and spread over chocolate layer.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.  i like to let it refrigerate for 24 hours so that it is nice and cold.

*Mom's recipe called for melted butter, but i only soften mine.  For me, it makes an easier dough to work with.
*i like to put the dish back into the refrigerator after each layer for about an hour, so that it sets well before i put the next layer on.
*Grandmother, at Christmas, would change the recipe into Peppermint Delight by mixing vanilla pudding and crushed peppermint sticks and substituting that for the chocolate layer!