Grandma Otten's 4 layer Pistachio Pudding Dessert

I cannot even begin to count how many times I have requested this dessert for my birthday. It is oh so creamy, oh so good, the crust takes like a cookie, and instead of pistachio pudding, you can use Chocolate or any pudding for that matter. I will say I did try butterscotch once, it did not seem to work very well. French Vanilla or Regular vanilla pudding with green dye added in could be used in place of pistachio for St. Patrick's Day!! Lemon Instant Pudding is delightful if making this during the summer. Along with the cream cheese layer, it sorta gives a "cheesecake" taste to the dessert.


The Crust:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 sticks Butter or Margarine ( Granny and mom used Margarine, and if you use butter, salted or unsalted will work)

1/2 cup chopped Pecans

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees

Mix above ingredients altogether and pat it it in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to thoroughly cool.

The next layer:

8 ounces Cream Cheese ( softened)

1 cup Powdered Sugar

A drizzle or 2 of heavy cream/half and half or Milk.

Whip together the cream cheese and Powdered Sugar with an electric mixer and spread the mixture on cooled crust. If, like me, you feel the mixture is too thick to spread, add a little splash of cream, half and half or milk to smooth it out. You still want to be able to spread this, not just "pour" it in on top of the crust. Place in refrigerator while preparing the next layer.

The 3rd Layer:

2 small packages of Pistachio Instant Pudding

3 Cups of Milk

Beat the pudding powder mix with the 3 cups of milk until thickened. Spread over cream cheese layer and return to the refrigerator until the pistachio layer is completely set. (about 10 to 30 minutes, should not take long, depends on the pudding you use.)

Final Layer:

1 Large Container of Cool Whip

Crushed Pecans

Cover the pudding layer with Cool Whip until completely covered. Top with crushed pecans. If you want you can get a pastry bag and get decorative at this point, but I usually do not. Cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 1-2 hours. If you have used chocolate pudding, take a chocolate bar and make chocolate shavings, and you could lightly drizzle chocolate sauce over the top as well. Lemon pudding, finely grate some lemon zest over the top. Used vanilla pudding, add 1 tsp. of Vanilla Extract to the cool whip.