We had a bit of a hair clipping fiasco at our house last week. The annoying thing about kid’s hair is that it never stops growing, so you always have to do something about it. Come on, didn’t I just cut your hair last month? And now I have to do it again?? (Kind of like how dinner never lets up. No matter what you do, somebody still wants dinner 24 hours after you made the last one. What gives, universe?) Eric graciously said he would take care of our boy’s haircuts, and I graciously sent him a YouTube tutorial so that he didn’t screw it up. (Aren’t you bummed you’re not married to me? Eric is a saint.) We started with the 2-year-old first, which in hindsight, was a mistake. You would not believe the level of crying, screaming, scissors-flying, ears-bleeding, hair everywhere, and general angst and chaos created from such a tiny human. Then, after that episode, Eric had to clip the other, more placable son. 9-year-olds can totally sit still, so this should be easy peasy, right? Wrong. We paused that YouTube video so many times, and Truman still ended up looking like he got lawn-mow’d. At some point we just had to stop, because when things are going downhill and every move seems to make it worse, you just eventually call it quits, and accept that your kid looks like a hyena. Oh well, I thought. The difference between a bad haircut and a good haircut is about 2 weeks, right? I woke up the next morning and sent the kids off to school. And then I found out it was PICTURE DAY. Noooo!!! The photographer probably took one look at Truman and thought, “are the scissors broken in your house, son?” (Where are my Parks and Rec fans at? 😉) Well, now that I have solidified my son’s position as the un-coolest-of-kids on the playground, we can move on. Let’s get back in the kitchen, guys. It’s seriously the only part of my life that I have not screwed up yet. (Okay wait, that’s not even true, I screw up recipes all the time. Dangit!!) Well I didn’t screw this one up. I’ve got something amazing for you today. Have you heard of Lemon Lush?
What is Lemon Lush Dessert?
If you have not tried this stuff, sit down, shut up, and listen ;) Lush desserts are cool and creamy, and live up to their name: they are LUSH. (“very rich and providing great sensory pleasure.” Yes puh-lease!) They’re usually made of several layers. A buttery crust, a lemony cheesecake layer, a lemon pudding layer, then topped with whipped cream. People who try Lemon Lush for the first time are usually dubious, you can see it on their face. They take a tentative bite, widen their eyes in surprise, and say something like, “What did you call this again? What is it?” In other words, give me more information about this glorious thing that just happened in my mouth. Most people, at least where I’m from in California, haven’t tried Lemon Lush. I feel like it’s a Utah/MidWestern thing? Or what region is “old church cookbook” found in? Bet you 10 bucks your grandma made something like this. Of course you can change up the flavors to whatever you want: I’ve seen chocolate versions, turtle, Pistachio, etc. More details on variation ideas below!
Lemon Lush Ingredients
How to make Lemon Lush Dessert
First things first, we need to make the pudding so it has time to cool. I used Cook and Serve pudding, instead of instant pudding, because it is richer (hello egg yolks) and also there is more pudding per box, so you get a thicker layer of bright yellow pudding in your Lush. See recipe notes for using instant pudding.
The Crust. You’ll need Lemon Oreos, pecans, butter and salt. Cream Cheese layer. basically a no-bake cheesecake layer: cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, salt, and fresh lemon juice and zest. Lemon pudding layer.* You need 2 boxes of lemon pudding, sugar, egg yolks, and milk. Whipped cream topping. Just cream, powdered sugar, and salt and vanilla for flavor. You can cheat and use a tub of Cool Whip if you want!
Can you make it ahead of time?
How long does Lemon Lush last?
Lemon Lush will be good for around 3 to 5 days, although we usually finish ours well before then! Definitely don’t leave it out for more than an hour or two before putting it back in the refrigerator. It will keep longer that way, plus who wants to eat warmish pudding? Have some self respect. Set it over medium heat and continue whisking, whisking, whisking. Don’t walk away or again, you will get lumpy pudding. Keep whisking just until it starts to boil and bubbles are coming up from the center of the pot. It should look like the photo above. Add some lemon Oreos and pecans to a food processor and pulse away. Add in some salt and butter, then press into a pan. Bake it for 20-25 minutes until the top is a nice golden brown. We want those pecans nice and toasty, so don’t under bake. The whipped cream should be added just before serving. If you don’t have time to beat cold cream and add it right before serving, you can whip it a couple hours in advance, saving it in the fridge in a separate container.
Variations: let’s make every Lush recipe known to man!
More light and refreshing summer desserts!
Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram If you are saving leftovers, just freeze it and hope for the best, presentation-wise. If you are making the recipe ahead of time and want to freeze the pan whole before eating any, I would leave off the whipped cream. Add the lemon pudding layer, seal well, and freeze. When ready to serve, thaw and then add fresh whipped cream on top. It will present much better that way!
Chocolate: use oreos for the crust, leave out the lemon stuff, make it chocolate pudding, voila! Pistachio: use graham crackers for the crust (and maybe pistachios instead of pecans? I’m spitballin’ here) then vanilla extract in the cream cheese, pistachio pudding, whipped cream. Turtle: Use golden oreos/graham cracker and pecans for the crust, vanilla in cheesecake, chocolate pudding (or salted caramel pudding, is that thing? OR make a homemade Butterscotch Pudding <– yes, do this!!) and then top the whipped cream with salted caramel and toasty pecans. And maybe chocolate chips! Or incorporate chocolate by using an Oreo cust, if you go with a caramel pudding. Banana cream: use Nilla wafers for the crust. Vanilla in cream cheese layer, use banana cream pudding, top with whipped cream, top with more Nilla wafers and bananas! And Pecans! And top the whole thing with Homemade Caramel Sauce. Ooh yes.
Seriously folks, tell me what other flavors you try. I want to make every variation of this dessert ever! Though I do think this lemon one might always be my favorite. Enjoy!
Mandarin Orange Ambrosia Salad « easy, cool, and classic No Bake Cherry Cream Cheese Pie « another church cookbook recipe! Pig Pickin Cake (Sunshine Cake) « yellow cake with mandarin oranges baked right into it, then layered with pineapple whipped cream, it’s SO light, bright, and tasty Vanilla Layered Pudding Dessert « super easy to switch out toppings to match the holiday Classic Strawberry Shortcake « just like grandma made! No Bake Cheesecake Parfait Bar « SO great for big groups Rhubarb Meringue Layers « perfectly light and heavenly The Best Lemon Curd Recipe « good on toast, ice cream, a spoon… you name it Sea Foam Salad (Creamy Pear Jello) « you’ve never met a jello like this before! The Best Lemon Squares « this one is basically my favorite. No really. Frozen Yogurt Berry Bites from Happiness is Homemade Fresh Pineapple Sorbet from Add a Pinch Peaches & Cream Pretzel Dessert from Simply Taralynn
