Chocolate Pudding Dessert

I know the picture isn't "chocolate," but you can use any flavor of instant pudding you want, and it works out nicely. I personally, used vanilla this time. This is one of my favorite desserts. Growing up, we only had it for special occasions. I thought that was because it was hard to make. I was wrong. It's actually pretty easy to make. It takes a little time because the crust has to cool, but it's definitely worth it. This dessert is nice and cool, so it makes a great summer treat, especially if you're having a little garden party or something. I got this recipe from my mom, but it originally came from the Lion House cook book.

Chocolate Pudding Dessert

Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup butter
2/3 cup chopped nuts
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Combine flour, butter, and nuts. Cut together like with a pie crust, until they resemble coarse meal. Press into 9X13 pan. Bake 30 minutes. Cool.
*There are many people I cook for that don't like nuts or are allergic to them, so I used my lemon bar crust recipe. I'm sure you can find your favorite crust to use as well.

Cream Cheese Filling:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 8 oz package cream cheese
1 9 oz carton frozen whipped topping (Cool Whip or a generic form)
Beat together sugar and cream cheese until fluffy. Add 1/2 of whipped topping. Spread over crust.

Pudding:
2 3 oz packages instant pudding
3 cups milk
Make pudding as directed, using 3 cups of milk. Spread on cream cheese layer. Spread remaining whipped topping on pudding layer. Sprinkle with chopped nuts or shaved chocolate if desired. Chill several hours or overnight. Makes 15 servings.