Pistachio Dessert

Hi friends, it's Jess.  On Father's Day, I was looking for a simple summery dessert.  I remembered one of my husband's favorite desserts from growing up was this "Pistachio Dessert" that his mom made.  It's a layered combination of a crunchy cookie crust, cream cheese frosting, pistachio pudding and whipped cream.  I found several similar recipes on Pinterest, but I wanted the official version.  Lucky for me, upon graduation from high school, all the kids in the neighborhood were gifted with a small, homemade cookbook that featured all the favorite recipes from neighborhood BBQs and parties.  My husband still has his all these years later, so that's what I referenced for this recipe.  I'm not sure if this came from somewhere specific, but it's one of my mother-in-law's specialties, so I figured I'd share it with you!

The original recipe

Pistachio Dessert
makes one 9 x 13 tray (serves 10-12? depending on your serving size)

• 1 cup flour
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
• 2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup walnuts (divided)
• 1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
• 1 16-oz container Cool Whip (divided)
• 2 3.4-oz packages Jello Instant Pistachio Pudding mix
• 2 1/2 cups cold milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together the flour, melted butter, 2 tablespoons powdered sugar and 1/2 cup of the walnuts.  Press into the bottom of a 9x13 pan (I've used 8.5x11 when I can't find that size).  Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes until the edges are just golden brown.  Cool completely.

Layer One: Complete

With a hand mixer (or by hand with a spatula if you're feeling strong), mix the cream cheese, 1/2 package of the Cool Whip and 2/3 cup of powdered sugar until well combined.  Spread onto the top of the cooled crust using an offset spatula.  Chill.

Offset spatulas rule!

Beat the milk and instant pudding mix together until it thickens.  Spread onto the cream cheese layer carefully.  You don't want to disturb the layered effect.  (I find that pouring all of the pudding into the center then spreading it out with the offset spatula works well for this).  

That green color though...

Spread the remaining Cool Whip on top and sprinkle on the nuts.  Cover and refrigerate until serving.  My trick is to stick a few toothpicks in and stretch the plastic wrap on top of those, so that it doesn't stick to the whipped cream layer.  

When you're ready to eat, scoop out a piece and serve!  Easy peasy!  You'll want to keep this cool as long as you can, since the layers start to melt and weep a little if it gets too warm.  It does hold up in the fridge for a few days (if it lasts that long), but I wouldn't make it too far in advance for a party.  If pistachio isn't your jam, you could substitute any instant pudding mix instead.  I think it would work really well with chocolate or strawberry, too.  Actually, now that I'm thinking of it, I might try strawberry for 4th of July--garnished with some fresh berries!  How American does that sound?

Dig in!

So there you have it!  The World Famous Pistachio Dessert!  Give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments below!