Pistachio Chocolate Bars

For my dad’s birthday, he requested something with pistachios.  Normally, my mom makes him a delicious pistachio cake, but this year we decided to make him something a little different as well as something fairly healthy since my mom is on Weight Watchers.  My sister, mom, and I decided to make him some pistachio chocolate bars.  We found several different recipes online and took bits and pieces from each one.  We wanted to make a bar that could be frozen with a graham cracker crumb base and pistachio pudding incorporated into it.  This bar is delicious because it has 5 layers: a graham cracker crumb base, a layer of chocolate, a layer of pistachio pudding, a layer of Cool Whip, and a layer of fresh chopped pistachios.  These bars are delicious and they’re pretty healthy too (we used low-fat pistachio pudding, low-fat graham crackers, and low-fat Cool Whip)!

Do you like pistachio-based desserts?  What are your favorites?

Ingredients:

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
• 2 cups milk, plus 2-3 tbsp
• 1 package instant pistachio pudding mix
• 1 container (8 oz) of Cool Whip
• 1/4 cup chopped pistachios

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a 11 x 7-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
2. In a bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs and sugar and stir in melted butter. Press crumb mixture onto bottom of pan and bake 8 minutes.  Allow to cool.
3. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips and add 2-3 tbsp milk until smooth. Spread over crust and refrigerate until hard, about 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, combine pistachio pudding mix with 2 cups milk and whisk until creamy and smooth, 2 minutes.  Refrigerate pudding 10-15 minutes or until set.
5. Once chocolate has hardened, spread pudding evenly over top of chocolate.  Spread Cool Whip on top of pistachio pudding and sprinkle with crushed pistachio nuts.
6. Freeze bars until hardened, about 2 hours.