When I was recently asked to bring a dessert to a fellow employee’s last day at work, I was stumped. Scratching my head, I thought “what in the world could I make that would NOT involve using my oven.” The last thing I wanted was a hot kitchen when the temps outside had been in the upper 90s!
So I started digging through my ole trusty recipe box, thinking I had an old lemon squares recipe that might be perfect. And I did! By golly, I hadn’t made this recipe for almost 20 years, at least. So I was a bit concerned that it wouldn’t be tasty enough to take somewhere for others to eat. Thankfully, I had no reason for worry. It was every bit as good as I remembered, and then some. Everyone at work loved it … several said they normally don’t care for lemon but they loved the mild flavor and the sweet coolness of this dessert.
Frozen Lemon Squares
1/4 cup butter, melted
1-1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1- 14 oz. can Eagle sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup ReaLemon
Few drops yellow food coloring, optional
Whipped topping
Combine butter, crumbs and sugar. Press into 8″ or 9″ square pan. Beat egg yolks. Stir in Eagle milk, lemon juice and food coloring. Pour into crust and chill in freezer. After an hour or so, when filling has set, add whipped topping and return to freezer til firm.
My recommendations:
I used the juice of one lemon and added enough ReaLemon to get my 1/2 cup. I also made my own graham crackers using graham flour, which gave the crust a more grainy texture. Don’t substitute whole wheat flour if you make your own graham crackers. Be sure to use whole wheat GRAHAM flour – trust me, they taste much better! I think you could also increase the brown sugar and honey somewhat if you want your crackers sweeter. I sprinkled mine with cinnamon sugar before I baked them.
I’ll just bet you’ve got some picnics to go to this weekend … why not take a sweet and chilly treat that’s easy to make and sure to please most everyone?!
