Mock Chocolate Eclair - Genuine YUM!

I’ve made chocolate éclairs several times. My sister used to make them all the time when we were teens – she had it down to a science. I’ve always loved the light, flaky texture of the pastry, the creaminess of the filling and the hint of chocolate glaze atop each delicate, finger-like dessert. I had a craving for éclairs last week but we were headed out camping for the 4th of July holiday and éclairs wouldn’t have really made the trip well. Luckily, I found this recipe online at allrecipes.com - it’s billed as a Chocolate Éclair Dessert. Now, it doesn’t taste as much like a chocolate éclair as I would’ve hoped…but it does taste like a little piece of heaven! It’s light, has just the right amount of chocolate and it’s SO incredibly fast and easy to make. One note – it does need to sit for a few hours so make it in the morning (or even the night before), stick it in the fridge and serve it proudly later in the evening or the next day for a perfectly delicious treat. This is not a frozen dessert (I don’t care for icebox pie desserts and the like), but it does come out of the fridge so it’s especially perfect for summer time dining and entertaining! Try it soon! You’ll be SO glad you did!

Chocolate Éclair Dessert

Ingredients:
3 sleeves graham crackers
2, 3 oz. packages vanilla or cheesecake flavored instant Jell-O pudding mix
3 cups cold milk
1, 8 oz. tub of thawed whipped topping
1 16 oz. container prepared chocolate frosting

Directions:
Using a hand mixer, mix the cold milk and two pudding mixes in a bowl (I like to pre-chill my bowl) until very well combined. Mixture will not be thick like you might think it would be. Fold in the entire tub of whipped topping and set aside. Line the bottom of a 9x13” pan with a layer of graham crackers. You may need to break a few crackers in half to make them fit but because the pan gets the tiniest bit wider at the top, by the time you get to the top layer, all the grahams will fit really nicely in the pan. Anyhoo…spoon half of the pudding mixture onto the graham cracker layer and carefully spread it evenly to outer edges of the pan. Place a second layer of graham crackers atop the pudding mixture, then spoon the remaining pudding over the second graham layer, again spreading it evenly. Top this pudding layer with one last graham cracker layer. Remove the lid and foil cover from the prepared frosting and microwave the frosting for 1 minute – stirring half way through – so it’s more or less a liquid consistency. Pour the entire container of frosting over the top graham cracker layer, using a knife to make sure the frosting evenly covers the whole surface. Place the lid on the pan – or cover it with foil – and put the whole shebang in the fridge for several hours (like at least 5 or 6) to over night. You can serve this straight from the refrigerator or you can let it sit out for a bit if you prefer it a little more room temp. You’ll find it cuts like butter – and plates beautifully. This is a simple and amazing dessert – ENJOY!!!!