Chocolate Eclair Dessert

It's been a while since I posted a new recipe. I have a few sets of photos related to different recipes that are ready to be written about, but I haven't had the motivation to do so. This blogging thing is apparently something that is slightly difficult to get back into after a long gap.

Fortunately, I made something wonderful this past week. It's a recipe that my grandma used all the time when I was little. It is possibly one of the best desserts ever. It is also incredibly simple to make.

I've had the page marked in the cookbook to make this, but I haven't had a good reason to make it until this past weekend. This dessert is just as delicious as a remember and much easier to make than I expected. I made the chocolate frosting slightly thicker than it should have been and I used cinnamon graham crackers instead of honey. If you can, I recommend using a 9x13 cake pan that doesn't have sloped sides. My pan had sloped sides and that make placing the layers of graham crackers weird (gaps around the edges and such).

Chocolate Eclair Dessert
2 packages French vanilla instant pudding (3ish ounce size)
3 C milk
1 8 oz carton Cool Whip
1 lb box of graham crackers (honey or cinnamon)
2 envelopes pre-melted baking chocolate
1 t vanilla
3 T salted butter, softened
1 1/2 C powdered sugar
3 T milk

First, coat the 9x13 inch pan with a layer of butter.

Make the French vanilla pudding according to directions but only use the 3 cups of milk.

Add the entire carton of Cool Whip.

Fold the Cool Whip into the pudding. You have to fold it or the Cool Whip will lose its nice fluffy consistency.

Place a layer of graham crackers in the pan.

Carefully spread half of the pudding mixture over the layer of graham crackers.

Lay down another layer of graham crackers.

Spread the remaining pudding mixture over the new layer of graham crackers.

Add another layer of graham crackers!

Now make the chocolate frosting. Do this by placing the chocolate, vanilla, milk, and softened butter into a mixing bowl.

Stir it all together. It will seem kind of awful and thick.

Stir in the powdered sugar. This somehow gives it a very nice and smooth consistency. If the frosting seems too thick to spread on the graham crackers, add a little bit more milk. Don't add too much. You don't want it to be runny!

Spread the frosting on top of the layer of graham crackers.

Now for the hard part... You have to let this lovely dessert sit for 12 hours (in the refrigerator!). This allows the moisture of the pudding to soak into the graham crackers and soften them.

Here's a side view of the delicious layers:

Enjoy!