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Tuesday, May 3, 2011

COOKING WITH CLORIS -- EASY NO-BAKE ÉCLAIRS



Easy No-bake Éclairs! How marvelous! Cloris is taking a much needed break today, thanks to reader Carolyn J. Coles who sent us this recipe. -- AP

Want delicious éclairs without spending lots of time cooking? Well, have I got a recipe for you. Yumm. Got to tell you, I was skeptical when I was first told what I needed from the store. I thought yeah sure these will taste like éclairs – not.  Boy was I wrong.

We were having an office party so I made my easy no bake éclairs the night before and brought them into work. My family begged me to make two batches, one for them. I didn’t. I told them they could have the leftovers. I’d watch over the éclairs and when my office workers were finished with lunch I’d refrigerate the rest and bring them home. Guess I should’ve made two, cause there were no leftovers.

      Ingredients:
      1 box of graham crackers or cinnamon graham crackers
1 large package of French vanilla instant pudding
1 small tub of Cool Whip or an equivalent amount of whipped cream
1 can of ready-made icing Dark Chocolate Fudge
 cold milk

Directions:
            Mix the instant pudding up as directed on the box, eliminating 1 cup of the cold milk. Fold in an equal amount of cool whip or whipped cream. (I just eyeball it.) 

Lightly grease the bottom of a rectangular cake pan. Add a layer of graham crackers. Only break the graham crackers if a smaller size is needed. A little overlapping is okay. 

Spread half the pudding/cool whip mixture over the graham crackers. Add another layer of graham crackers. Pour the rest of the pudding/cool whip mixture over the second layer.  Add a third layer of graham crackers.

Microwave the icing until it’s liquidly and can easily pour. Pour on top of the graham cracker layer until completely covered.

Cover the pan with non-stick foil and refrigerate overnight to soften the graham crackers into a pastry like taste. If you just can’t wait that long, refrigerate anywhere from 2 to 4 hours but the longer the better.

So who among our readers is game to try this? Let’s hear from you. Is Carolyn right? Do these faux éclairs really taste like the real thing? Post a comment to enter the drawing for a book from our Book Club Friday guest author. -- AP

3 comments:

Kathy said...

These sound good but I'll have to wait for an occasion where there will be lots of people present to make them otherwise I'll eat the whole pan myself.

Carolyn J Coles said...

I might do the Mother's Day thing and take them with me. She's usually surrounded by lots of bridge-playin ladies that love sweets.

ANASTASIA POLLACK said...

This does seem like a recipe meant for sharing. I can't wait to try it, Carolyn.