Pistachio Cream Cheese Dessert

Pistachio Cream Cheese Dessert


This is one recipe I DO remember my mom making.  It seemed like it was a frequent take-along to gatherings and always got raved over.  She always made it with pistachio but I've also made it with chocolate or with butterscotch flavored pudding.  One year I took it to a Halloween gathering and put fall colored sprinkles on top instead of nuts.

As usual - I only made half the recipe.  I let the butter soften on the counter for a few hours before I started.  Some butter was stuck to the paper so I wiped the paper onto the pan.

I mixed the flour, sugar and butter with a fork.

The ingredients mixed fairly easily.

The dough stayed crumbly.  I've made similar crusts before.  I tried pushing the dough down with the tines of the fork but that just left holes.

I tried the back of a spoon and that left bigger holes.

I worked most of it into a smooth crust with my fingers, and sometimes the spoon. (Going into oven.)

Out of the oven - I really wasn't happy with the crust but hoped it would hold together enough to carry the weight of the top layers from plate to mouth. (It did.)

I mixed the cream cheese, powdered sugar, Cool Whip in a regular bowl with a spoon, by hand.
The pudding I put in the Tupperware Mix n Pour and added milk from the pandemic school lunch summer distribution.  I beat with my hand mixer for 2 minutes like the package said.

I didn't worry too much about getting each layer all the way to the edge.  Close enough for government work - as my parents used to say.

I had already put the left over Cool Whip back in the freezer after the first layer before I realized I needed more.  I found that a large metal spoon was effective for spreading all the layers.

A little texture adds interest.  A couple spots got too thin and I could see green showing through so I just redistributed the Cool Whip without a problem.

I knew I'd be the only one in my house who'd want nuts so I just put them on one corner.  The pudding also has little pistachio pieces in it.


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