Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Chill Time: 2 hrs
Total: 2 hrs 30 mins
Servings: 12 servings
This layered chocolate dessert lives up to its name and is always a hit. Chocolate delight is made with a graham cracker crust that’s layered with chocolate pudding, sweetened cream cheese, whipped topping, and then sprinkled with chopped walnuts or pecans if you like. But the beauty of this recipe is how flexible it is. You can use a different type of crust, another flavor of pudding, a variety of toppings—the variations are endless.
This recipe calls for frozen whipped topping and instant pudding, but feel free to use homemade if you prefer.
«This layered dessert is a definite crowd-pleaser, and it is so rich and decadent that one recipe will feed a big crowd. It takes just minutes to put together but be sure to give it a couple of hours to chill after assembling.» —Danielle Centoni
A Note From Our Recipe Tester
Ingredients
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2 cups graham cracker crumbs
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2 tablespoons granulated sugar
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4 ounces (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
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8 ounces cream cheese, softened
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1 cup confectioners' sugar
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1 (16-ounce) tub frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
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2 (3.9-ounce) packages chocolate instant pudding
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3 cups cold milk
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1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional
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1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional
Steps to Make It
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Gather the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
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In a bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, granulated sugar, and the melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 9 x 13 x 2-inch pan.
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Bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely before assembling the layers.
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In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with the confectioners' sugar until smooth. Stir in half of the whipped topping until well blended.
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Spread the mixture over the cooled crust.
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In another bowl, beat the pudding with the cold milk as directed on the package (but using only 3 cups of milk).
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Spread the pudding over the cream cheese layer.
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Top the dessert with the remaining whipped topping and spread to cover completely.
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If desired, sprinkle with chopped pecans or walnuts.
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Chill thoroughly before serving, about 2 hours.
Tip
- Allow the cool whip to thaw in the refrigerator over night before using in this recipe.
Recipe Variations
- Salted Pretzel Crust: Combine 1 1/2 cups of crushed pretzels with 1/3 cup of granulated sugar and 1/2 cup of melted butter. Pat the mixture into the baking pan and bake at 350 F for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool completely and proceed with the recipe.
- Nut Crust: In a bowl, combine 1 cup of finely chopped pecans with 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup of melted butter. Pat the mixture into the baking pan. Bake at 350 F for about 20 minutes, or until set and lightly browned. Cool completely and proceed with the recipe.
- Shortbread Cookie Crust: Replace the graham cracker crumbs with 2 cups of finely crushed sandies or pecan sandies.
- Vanilla Wafer Crust: Replace the graham cracker crumbs with 2 cups of finely crushed vanilla wafers.
- Butterscotch Delight: Use 2 boxes of butterscotch pudding instead of chocolate pudding and replace the pecan topping with Heath toffee chips, shaved semisweet or milk chocolate, or chopped candy bars of your choice.
- Lemon Delight: Use lemon pudding and top with toasted coconut or shredded or grated lemon zest.
- Banana Delight: Use banana pudding and top with toasted coconut.
- Pistachio Delight: Use pistachio pudding and top with chopped pistachio nuts.
- Cookies and Cream Delight: Use 1 package of instant chocolate pudding mix and 1 package of instant cookies and cream pudding. Or use white chocolate pudding and sprinkle 1 cup of crumbled Oreo cookies between the first whipped topping layer and the pudding layer.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings: 12 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 451 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 27g | 34% |
| Saturated Fat 18g | 90% |
| Cholesterol 44mg | 15% |
| Sodium 455mg | 20% |
| Total Carbohydrate 49g | 18% |
| Dietary Fiber 1g | 4% |
| Total Sugars 38g | |
| Protein 5g | |
| Vitamin C 0mg | 1% |
| Calcium 109mg | 8% |
| Iron 1mg | 5% |
| Potassium 182mg | 4% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
