Republican Dessert - cooking recipe

Ingredients

Crust
2 cups flour
1 cup butter or 1 cup margarine, melted
1/2 cup crushed nuts (almonds or macadamia nuts)
First Layer
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
8 ounces Cool Whip
Second Layer
6 ounces instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup 2% low-fat milk
Third Layer
8 ounces Cool Whip

Preparation

Combine Crust ingredients with a fork and spread out onto 9x13 in pan, lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or golden brown. Set aside to cool completely. You may speed cooling by placing in the fridge.
Combine First Layer ingredients, spread onto cooled crust. It's easier to spread if the ingredients are at or close to room temperature.
Combine Second Layer ingredients, let set (pudding will be extra thick), spread onto first layer. Again it is easier to spread this topping at room temperature. A tip for spreading: Start by putting scoops of the pudding on top and then spread so the two layers don't get mixed up.
Spread Third Layer ingredients (Cool Whip) onto second layer in the same way as before: start with scoops of the Cool Whip on top of the pudding and then spread.
Chill, covered for another 30 minutes or so. Cut into 16 squares. Another thing you can do to ease the spreading of the layers is to chill the pan in between layers.