You might have guessed this already but… I’m kind of into cooking. My perfect day is getting to spend all day in the kitchen trying out a new recipe. I tell you this because it makes what I’m about to say a little bizarre.
My all-time favorite dessert is one of those whip-it-up jobs that uses semi-prepared short cut items like Cool Whip and instant pudding.
I’m so ashamed.
Anywho… it never occurred to me to post this recipe because it’s so popular in my family I assumed that everybody and their dog had it. Then I was making my grocery list one day and didn’t have the recipe with me so I searched online expecting to find 40’leven recipes for it… and I couldn’t find it. At least not the way we make it.
There are versions of this out there but they vary greatly and I had a hard time finding one with the same pecan shortbread crust. That and the fact that my posting a picture of it on the Facebook page resulted in you guys demanding the recipe told me I should post my family’s version of this recipe.
Chocolate delight is a simple layered dessert that includes a pecan shortbread crust, a cheesecake-y cream cheese layer and a rich chocolate pudding layer that's all topped with whipped topping and pecans. And seriously, I think it's the pecans that make it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Chocolate Delight
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, divided
Pinch of salt
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
16 oz. Cool Whip, divided
2 3.9-oz. boxes instant chocolate pudding
3 cups milk
Combine flour, butter, 1 1/4 cups of pecans and salt and press into the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool completely.
Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Fold in half of the Cool Whip and mix until combined. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly onto crust.
Mix pudding mixes and milk with an electric mixer until combined then mix on medium speed for two minutes. Spread chocolate mixture evenly onto cream cheese layer.
Spread remaining Cool Whip onto chocolate layer then sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup chopped pecans.
PRINTABLE RECIPE
YUMMMMMMMMMM!
ReplyDeleteI want some of this now!!! Thanks for sharing on Weekend Potluck!
ReplyDeletePopped over here from The Country Cook's Weekend Potluck. Surprisingly this recipe is new to me and looks awesome!
ReplyDeleteit is!!!! my ninnie use to make it and it WAS our family recipe so i was told anyway! lol but we also do a few things differntly. if ur interested, hit me up and we will compare! :)
DeleteI was so excited to see this recipe! I was on The Country Cook's Weekend Potluck and the minute I saw youru picture, I knew it was my "Aunt Jan's Chocolate Stuff". That's what all us kids called it when we were young and sadly, she now has Alzheimer's and we cannot get the recipe. This is so delightful it truly IS a Chocolate Delight. Especially on a hot summer night! I cannot wait to introduce my husband and grandson to this lovely southern dish. Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteAwwww... you just made my day! It's such a shame when we lose family recipes... my grandmother (Nanny) made the best chicken and dumplin's but we lost the recipe when we lost her and I've never been brave enough to attempt it. Yet.
DeleteI hope you enjoy the Chocolate Delight as much as your aunt's! Thanks so much for your comments.
Nanny's chicken and dumplin's!!!!
DeleteHope....
I can remember this dish from my childhood. I'ts called 4 Layer dessert and to Die for!!!!
ReplyDeleteI have made this for years! It is so good and my whole family loves this. Thanks for posting this, this reminds me to think about making this for our 4th of July cookout.
ReplyDeleteMy mother used to make this every Christmas when we were kids. It was originally for those who did not care for pumpkin pie, but we all ended up having some of both. I have not had it since my mom was alive because I could never find a recipe due to not knowing its official name. My mom passed away 10 years ago, and this sure brought back some good memories. Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteOh... you just made my day. Sometimes I question putting such simple recipes here (because really, this is "mixing" not "cooking") but then someone like you says something like this and I remember why I posted it. This recipe is all about family memories for me too. I'm glad you have the recipe again!
DeleteI never thought to make this with chocolate. I have always made peach or strawberry delight. I just made one about three weeks ago. OMG!!!
ReplyDeleteAndreaetta
That's funny! I've seen it with peaches or strawberries but I've seen it with cherries and blueberries. I guess you could slap anything in the middle and it would taste great!
DeleteOne of my favorites! WHen I pregnant, I fixed this and ate the entire thing myself... shhh. Did I just post that? :-)
ReplyDeleteLOL! I know this recipe by the name of Sex in a Pan - 'cos it is so goooood! My mother - upon hearing her young granddaughter ask, "Can I have some sex in a pan, please?" decided right then and there that it had to be renamed. She renamed it "Heaven in a Pan"! Love this stuff!
ReplyDeleteLove this recipe. I've been making it for about 15yrs (it was passed down to me by hubby's g-ma)
ReplyDeleteFamily recipes are the best!
DeleteMy family's been making this for 20 years. We call it Million Dollar Dessert! :)
ReplyDeleteI have this recipe too....and we love it, we know it by the name of "BETTER THAN SEX " LOL....but
ReplyDeleteyou can't take it to church and tell people what it is :) so we named it just "CHOCOLATE TORTE"
and we have called it that ever since...my sister makes it using blueberry pie filling and it is
good also, but to me nothing beats the chocolate......just sayin............
My mom is allergic to chocolate... do you think I could make this with white chocolate pudding and it would be just as yummy?
ReplyDeleteYes I live in Arkansas and we call this "4 Layer Delight" somebody always brings this to a church funtion.or a variation of it ..like using another flavor pudding.
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty, this recipe name should be changed. It 'should' read - "Chocolate Delight for One".
ReplyDeletethe reason you had so much trouble finding it online is beacuse there are soooo many names for it.....we've always called it 4-Layer Delight
ReplyDeleteOhhh! I hadn't thought of this in a while! So good! We always called it 4 Layer Delight, too. If it's not quite decadent enough (eye-roll!) you can always try pouring a can of cherry pie filling over the cream cheese layer - before the chocolate layer. Mmmm!!! Well, I guess you could pour it over the chocolate layer - before the Cool Whip layer - whatever makes your tummy happiest! :) Thanks for reminding me of this!
ReplyDeleteDoes the fact that I am licking my computer screen mean anything bad?
ReplyDeleteNope. Seems perfectly normal to me!! LOL!!
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