Luck ’o the pistachio

I make this recipe once a year, usually around St. Patrick’s Day, not only because it’s green but because it reminds me of the flavours of childhood.

One of my friends had a bite of it and said, “Oh, yeah, this tastes like being a kid again.” Pudding and Jello mixes were much trendier back then — now it’s all about cake pops and cookie dips.

Certain tastes, smells and sounds can trigger memories for people and the taste of this dessert brings me way back to memories of summer days, childhood friends and family time.

So, needless to say, you might have seen this recipe before, and even tried it — it’s not new, but oh so good!

This is a basic triple layer dessert with a walnut shortbread crust as the first layer, a cream cheese and Cool Whip second layer and a most delightful pistachio pudding as the third. I like to top it off with some more cool whip and walnuts.

It’s easy to put together in stages or make them all at once and layer once the crust is cooled.

Cut yourself a big square of this dessert and pass it onto the next generation.

Pistachio Layer Dessert

Adapted from Kraft Canada

First layer

1 ½ cup flour

¾ cup butter, softened

¾ cup finely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and heavily grease a 9×13 with cooking spray, set aside.

Mix all three ingredients together (I used my stand mixer for this) and press into the pan evenly. Bake for 20 minutes, do not brown. Let cool completely.

While cooling, start on your other layers.

Second layer

1 8-ounce package of cream cheese, softened

1 cup of icing sugar

½ large container of Cool Whip (thawed)

Mix all ingredients together (again, I used my stand mixer for this, but you could use a hand mixer) until they are well combined, soft and fluffy and the cream cheese has no lumps.

Spread the mixture on the cooled crust.

Third layer

2 boxes of pistachio pudding mix

3 cups of milk

½ large container of Cool Whip (thawed)

In a medium sized bowl, whip up the pudding and milk, following the directions on the box (expect for the milk amount) and let sit in fridge until firm and cold. When ready, spread it over the cheese mixture. Cover with the remaining half of the container of cool whip and then sprinkle with walnut pieces.

Let sit in the refrigerator a few hours before serving.

Justine Gelevan’s not a professional baker or critic; she’s a Halifax girl who loves all kinds of goodies – eating them, sharing them, making them and talking about them. She keeps her kitchen stocked with the tastiest ingredients with the help of Atlantic Superstore and President’s Choice. Visit her blog for more recipes and how-tos at thegoodiegirl.ca.