Introducing Texas Delight: The Award-Winning 70s Dessert That Deserves to Return

You’ve heard the phrase: 'What’s old is new again.' It’s true every time a classic dessert resurfaces on social media. While trends like Watergate Salad and Ice Cream Bread are getting attention, there’s another dessert that truly deserves a revival. Made with delicious ingredients like pudding, cream cheese, and chopped nuts, Texas Delight caught my eye after reading glowing reviews from families who cherish it. It’s now at the top of my must-try list.

What Exactly Is Texas Delight?

Texas Delight is a layered dessert that, according to its creator Nixiechick, 'isn’t just your average pudding dessert' and 'totally worth the effort.' With simple ingredients like flour, pecans, butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk, whipped topping, and instant pudding, I was convinced that if the rave reviews were accurate, Texas Delight would become my new go-to recipe for potlucks and entertaining.

'You’ve never tasted a pudding dessert like this,' Nixiechick wrote about their recipe. 'It’s both elegant and mouthwatering. Everyone will be asking for the recipe.'

How to Prepare Texas Delight

To prepare Texas Delight at home, I began with the crust. I mixed flour, melted butter, and chopped pecans, then pressed the mixture into a thin layer at the bottom of a 9x13 pan and baked it. While the crust cooled, I made the second layer: a blend of thawed whipped topping, powdered sugar, and softened cream cheese. Once that was ready, I spread it over the crust and let the pan chill in the fridge while I prepared the next layer.

The final layer of this delicious dessert, according to the original recipe, calls for instant coconut cream pudding. However, I couldn’t find coconut cream pudding at my local stores, and after seeing the steep prices online, I discovered from a Reddit thread that Jell-O had discontinued the product. I opted for vanilla pudding instead, and found in reviews that home cooks have used everything from chocolate pudding to even pumpkin spice to customize the dessert.

For this final layer, I mixed milk with instant pudding powder and spread it over the previous layers. After letting it set for a few hours, I topped it with more thawed whipped topping and chopped pecans before serving.

My Take on Texas Delight

This pudding-based dessert truly lives up to its name. The cream cheese and powdered sugar layer adds a perfect balance of sweet and tangy flavor, while the pudding itself feels luxuriously rich. The chopped pecans on top give it just the right amount of crunch. It was a hit with my family, even my teenagers who usually aren’t fans of retro desserts like pudding or Jell-O salads.

The reviews from others are equally glowing. One Dinogo community member shared, 'I made this for a party recently, and before the night was over, three people asked for the recipe. It’s both delicious and easy to make.'

'My mom made it with lemon pudding,' another reviewer said. 'I made it for the Iowa State Fair many years ago, and it won second place.'

One reviewer shared, 'This recipe is a classic; our family has been making it since the early 1970s, and it’s been a favorite for nearly 40 years.'

After tasting this award-winning dessert myself, I’ll definitely be making it again. I can understand why it’s so popular with so many Dinogo home cooks. Next time I make Texas Delight, I may try the lemon variation, as I imagine the tartness would pair perfectly with the creamy, tangy layer.