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An old-fashioned recipe made by generations with creamy pudding layered on top of soft graham crackers and topped with a homemade chocolate topping. This version is made on a cookie sheet to create a bar format that stretches the recipe to feed a crowd (like my family was ;)). Note: keep reading for some fun old photos of my family!

My favorite place to be as a child was my grandparent’s home. My grandma and grandpa’s home was always full of good food, happy noises, and great places to curl up with a book and hide.

making old-fashioned chocolate eclair bars — My little sister Tessa and Gma. Gosh…13-14 years ago?

My grandma had a handful of recipes she made year after year, for the holidays. She was a master at taking classic recipes and stretching them to feed her giant family (my father was 1 of 6 and I was, of course, the oldest of 10—my grandma had a clan!).

One of those recipes was the old-fashioned chocolate eclair cake. Usually made with multiple layers in a 9 by 13 pan, this recipe creates only a single layer in a cookie sheet allowing a single recipe to feed aLOT of people. And honestly, this dessert is so rich, so creamy, and so wonderful…the smaller size is needed!

chocolate eclair bars that feed a crowd — See if you can find my Gma, my bro (#2), and Nate. Missing is my bro (#4) who was in Iraq.

Key INgredients for Chocolate Eclair Bars:

Graham Crackers. Graham Crackers create the yummy layers the pudding sits on.
Whole Milk. Go ahead and use skim milk if you need to but you’ll get the best flavor from whole milk.
Vanilla Pudding. Try using French Vanilla Pudding for a rich flavor.
Frozen Whipped Topping. Mixing frozen whipped topping and vanilla pudding creates a fluffy, creamy filling.
Sour Cream. Sour cream makes the filling even tangier and tasty…trust me!
Cocoa. Use a great quality cocoa for the chocolate. So good!

a pan of old-fashioned chocolate eclair bars

How to Make Chocolate Eclair Bars:

Make the pudding and fold in the whipped topping and sour cream.
Gently spread the pudding mixture on top of the graham crackers.
Add another layer of graham crackers.
Make the yummy, creamy chocolate frosting.
Warm the finished frosting in the microwave until it is easy to spread.
Pour the frosting on top of your pudding mixture and gently spread it on top of the pudding.
Cover the cake and chill overnight, longer if possible.

My sweet grandparents when Katie was a baby.

Grandma would let me gather the milk and butter, sometimes even pour the milk into the measuring glass, and ALWAYS let me stir and stir the chocolate topping while pretending to ignore my little finger dips and licks. Only I got to do the chocolate topping because I was the oldest.

Luckily, this recipe uses a good amount of milk (maybe why she chose it?) that let EACH big kid pour a cup of milk into the recipe. The little kids lined the pan with the grahams, eating what was left in the package. Somehow she always needed 2 pkgs opened and OOPS…didn’t need that many! And “oh my gosh, how did she manage to get a cinnamon graham”. Clever, grandma, clever.

And the BEST PART…we often stuck that pan of dessert out on the porch instead of the fridge. Minnesota has its perks, after all.

Sometimes grandma would ask one of us to run out to the porch to “check on the dessert”. Of course, that was absolute nonsense. But we would run out in the cold, pretend to look hard, and then come back in shivering and say “a little bit longer” like we had any idea what we were looking for. She would nod like we were very wise.

Today, I often half the recipe still using a cookie sheet (a half-sheet), and always grab whole milk for this recipe. It is, after all, the way Grandma did it and that will always be the best way. Plus, those sweet memories sneak in while I’m making this recipe. Friends, the recipes tied to good memories are always the best ones…..aren’t they!

Can you make your own pudding?

Of course! In fact, I often do. You need enough vanilla pudding to equal about 4 cups. And friend, be sure to use a great dairy product when making your pudding! Whole milk gives the pudding a rich flavor that works wonderfully in this dessert.

Can you skip the frozen whipped topping?

Yes, but it is a bit trickier than skipping the pudding. Because this dessert gets its yummy flavor from hanging out in the fridge for a long time, you need a whipped topping that is stable and won’t get runny on you. You’ll need to use gelatin in your whipped topping to create that. It isn’t hard but it CAN be intimidating. Truly though, nothing beats good heavy cream whipped topping!

Can I purchase my chocolate frosting?

Of course! Simply warm it in the microwave before pouring it on. But be warned, it isn’t nearly as good as this chocolate frosting recipe made with real dairy ingredients!

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