Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

aunt betty's surprise dessert

(2 ratings)
Recipe by
Carolyn Haas
Whitewater, WI

My Aunt Betty gave me this recipe years ago. She got it from a store in suburban Chicago, called the Treasury, in the 70s. (If you remember Nixon and the Watergate scandal, you may recall that lots of pistachio flavored foods became popular around then: Watergate Salad, Watergate Cake. I just googled it and found out: Pistachio cake and pistachio salad quickly were renamed Watergate Cake etc., because they were filled with nuts and covered in fluff, ostensibly like the Nixon administration had been.) You can use other flavors of pudding instead! Cook time includes chill time.

(2 ratings)
yield 15 serving(s)
prep time 15 Min
cook time 1 Hr
method Bake

Ingredients For aunt betty's surprise dessert

  • 1 1/4 c
    flour
  • 1 stick
    butter or margarine (1/4 lb)
  • 1/2 c
    chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)
  • 8 oz
    cream cheese, low-fat
  • 8 oz
    cool whip (1/2 of regular size container)
  • 1 c
    powdered sugar
  • 3 c
    milk
  • 2 pkg
    instant pistachio pudding (1 oz. package if using fat-free)

How To Make aunt betty's surprise dessert

  • 1
    Combine flour and butter, mix until crumbly. Add nuts. Press onto bottom of 13x9 inch pan. Bake at 375ºF for about 15-18 minutes. Check to make sure that nuts don't get too brown. Let cool to room temperature.
  • 2
    Combine cream cheese, 1/2 of the cool whip and powdered sugar. Beat until fluffy. Carefully spread it onto cooled base. Chill for at least 20 minutes.
  • 3
    Mix pudding mixes with the milk until it is of pudding consistency. Spread on second layer. Chill for at least 20 minutes.
  • 4
    Spread remaining Cool whip on top and chill another 20 minutes before serving.
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