Chocolate Icebox Pudding

My plan is to post a group of my family recipes after the first of the year, but I couldn't wait on this one.  It is one of my grandmother's recipes and I made it to take to my dad's family's Christmas Eve get-together.  I have altered it a little but it is still pretty close to the original she made when my mom was little.  It is amazingly good and very easy to do.  No baking involved so it is a great summertime dessert.

Chocolate Icebox Pudding

Ingredients
8 oz. sweet German chocolate
2-1/2 Tbsp. water
3 Tbsp. sugar
4 eggs
1 c. chopped walnuts
1 pt. whipping cream
8 oz. vanilla wafers

Directions

This is what the chocolate you need should look like.  If you cannot find it I would use semi-sweet chocolate.  You do not want to use a milky or mild chocolate here.

Break chocolate into pieces and melt in a saucepan over low heat.

Beat eggs...

and add them to the melted chocolate.  It will look grainy and gross.  Turn the heat up to medium and cook until the mixture smooths out and gets thick.

It will be the consistency of frosting.  Once it is there, let it cool to room temperature.

When the chocolate is cool, whip your cream.

Fold half of your cream into the chocolate mixture.

Now fold your chopped nuts into the chocolate mixture.

Spread the wafers in a single layer in the bottom of a 9"x13" pan.  Top with the chocolate mixture.

Then spread other half of whipped cream on top of the chocolate.  At this point, the pudding needs to be refrigerated overnight.  You want the moisture from the pudding and whipped cream to soften the cookies.  After it sits about 24 hours it is technically done, but I like to decorate so....

I threw a handful of the cookies in my food processor and pulverized them.  Then I sprinkled their remains on top.  What can I say?  The holidays make me a little homicidal.