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Easy No-Bake Lemon Meringue Pie Dip

The post Easy No-Bake Lemon Meringue Pie Dip appeared first on Forkly.

It’s officially Spring weather and we’re ready to trade our heavy comfort foods for light and bright flavors (even if this recipe isn’t the healthiest). It’s also almost Easter, which means a long weekend full of family, fellowship, and food! Birthed out of my love for lemon anything, but especially pie, this dip is perfect for sharing with family and friends for dessert or a sweet afternoon post-egg hunt snack. Regardless of when you choose to eat it, we’re sure everyone who digs in will be asking for the recipe by the end of the gathering. Plus, with only seven common ingredients, it’s inexpensive to feed the crowd you’re hosting!

Looking for another delicious Springtime party dessert? Check out our popular Chocolate Dessert Hummus! It’s sure to please everyone at the party, plus it’s a little healthier than the option below.

This recipe really is simple. To make the lemon pie filling, you start with sweetened condensed milk and a generous amount of freshly squeezed lemon juice. While you could certainly get away with using bottled lemon juice, it’s not going to have the same freshness that you’ll get from full lemons, so I’d encourage you to grab a bag of citrus from the grocery store rather than trying to cut this corner. It’s worth it!

Once you’ve also added the teaspoon of vanilla, lemon zest, and (if you want to brighten the color) yellow food dye, whisk it all together! You could use electric beaters or a stand mixer if you want, but it’s not necessary – it really just needs a good whisk to combine everything. Once mixed, pour it into the bowl you’ll be serving the dip in and set aside. If you’re making the lemon pie filling ahead of time, cover with plastic or beeswax wrap and place in the fridge at this point.

Just before serving, make the meringue. It may last up to 24 hours, but we wouldn’t count on it! Meringue doesn’t last very long (even in the fridge), so make it as close to serving time as possible. If you’ve got a stand mixer, this step won’t take you long at all! Regardless, separate the whites and yolks of six large room temperature eggs. In a pinch, use cold eggs, but just know that they’ll take quite a bit longer to whip up! Add the icing sugar, remaining vanilla, and cream of tartar.

Using your electric hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the mixture on high for 7-10 minutes until stiff peaks form. You can test this by turning off the mixer and using a whisk or the beaters to move the mixture around. If the mixture doesn’t melt back into itself, the meringue is ready.

Heap all the meringue on top of the lemon pie filling mixture. If you’ve got a torch, go ahead and use it to torch the top of the meringue to get that beautiful golden marshmallowy look, but if you don’t (like us), sprinkle with more finely grated lemon zest. You can serve with whatever cookies you want! We used Nilla wafers, but graham crackers, mini sugar cookies, and shortbread are all delicious options as well. Serve immediately and enjoy! If you have any leftovers, remove the meringue from the top and discard (unfortunately, it really won’t keep) before keeping the lemon filling in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Love lemon pie? Check out these other Incredible Lemon Meringue Desserts! You won’t be disappointed.

Servings: 10-12

Ingredients

2 cans sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Zest from 1-2 lemons
Yellow food coloring (optional)
6 egg whites
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
Graham crackers or Nilla wafers, for serving

Equipment

Beaters or stand mixer

Method

For the filling: Whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, 1 tsp vanilla, lemon juice, zest, and food coloring (optional).
For the meringue: In a bowl, or stand mixer, beat the egg whites, sugar, remaining vanilla, and cream of tartar. Beat until stiff peaks form, about 7-10 minutes.
Pour the filling into desired serving dish and top with the meringue. If desired, use a torch to scorch the top of the meringue before serving. Serve with graham crackers or Nilla wafers!

Notes

When making the meringue, it is best to use room temperature egg whites, as they will thicken much faster.

Meringue doesn’t have a very long “shelf life”. Even in the fridge, it doesn’t tend to last longer than a day, so we suggest making this dessert not long before serving. Need be, make the lemon pie filling ahead of time and store in the fridge, then simply whip up the meringue just before putting it out.

The post Easy No-Bake Lemon Meringue Pie Dip appeared first on Forkly.

Simple & Easy Chocolate Pretzel Bunny Ears & Carrots Cupcake Toppers

The post Simple & Easy Chocolate Pretzel Bunny Ears & Carrots Cupcake Toppers appeared first on Forkly.

Spring has sprung and Easter is right around the corner! Whether it’s a cute treat for your kiddo’s class, an office potluck, or an Easter dinner, you probably have been voluntold to bring a dessert somewhere – we’ve all been there! Maybe you’re lacking general baking skills or just don’t have the time for something complex. Regardless of the “why”, we’ve got the “what”! These adorable pretzel stick bunny ears and carrots are the perfect way to dress up a simple or storebought dessert and look adorable even if you pipe them like a toddler.

With only a few ingredients, you can make these in 20 minutes or less and get points for both creativity and deliciousness. Use them to top brownies, cake, cupcakes – you name it! These simple and easy pretzel chocolate bunny ears and carrot toppers take those storebought cupcakes to the next level with next to no effort. That’s a win in our books!

The recipe is very simple and is all based around chocolate wafers, also called Candy Melts if you buy the Wilton’s brand. We got ours at Bulk Barn – a Canadian bulk food store, but you can also often find them at arts and craft stores or other bulk food stores. If they don’t have orange in stock (ours didn’t – whoops!), buy yellow and a few red wafers. If you melt them together, you’ll get a beautiful pastel orange! Start with a bowl of yellow and add about 5 red wafers. You can always add more red after if you want a darker orange, but it’s easier to add more than to try to backtrack.

Make sure to pick up some piping bags! They normally cost less than 50 cents each and they’ll make piping the shapes far easier than if you try to opt for a Ziploc bag. Melt the chocolate wafers in individual bowls in the microwave for 20 seconds at a time so they don’t burn, ensuring you stir in between each interval. Make a point to stir the melts that are touching the edges of the bowl, otherwise, I can almost guarantee they’ll burn, leaving a nasty smell in your microwave and making you start over or worse, sending you to the store again! Put them into bags and pipe them onto a parchment paper lined plate or baking tray, leaving about half an inch or so of pretzel sticking out the bottom. Then pop them in the fridge for 10 minutes or until they’re completely hardened.

Don’t worry about them being all different shapes and sizes! We promise that’s part of what makes them so cute and charming. They’re so easy that they make a really fun edible craft to do with your little ones too! They’ll have fun piping the chocolate (and eating the extra pretzels) and you get to experience a low-stress, highly forgiving activity with your child.

Repeat the same steps for both the carrots and the bunny ears, microwaving the colors you need for each respective topper as you need them. The melts tend to harden quite quickly, so it’s best to microwave the orange and green, then pipe the carrots, then microwave the white and pink, then pipe the ears. Alternatively, you can microwave all four colors at the same time, put them into the piping bags, close them up with twist ties or clothespins (just to hold them shut temporarily), and then re-soften them by placing the un-snipped bags in a cup of hot water if needed!

Once they’re hardened, pop them off the tray and into the top of the cupcake or other sweet treat! Create sets of ears that are similar, unless you want particularly lop-sided bunnies. The toppers will stay hardened at room temperature but are also fine in the fridge, so choose how to store them based on the treat they’re topping. BAM! Cutest Easter treats ever. They’re ready to serve up and be enjoyed by all. Hoppy Easter!

Servings: 12