The PERFECT Summer Dessert!!!
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Wow, I love pies and I love cheesecake – and this amazing summery Lemon Lush dessert has some of the qualities of both while delivering a refreshing lemon flavor perfect for any time of year.
Different variations of this recipe have been around for years – decades, even, but this one really stood out from the crowd because of the little extra tweaks. The original creator of this dessert recipe has added some really nice touches to this recipe. For instance the crust has little chopped pieces of pecans that really add what I call the “Southern” dimension to this dessert. This is such an easy dessert to put together, and if your family doesn’t like lemon – just use a different type of pudding mix! This is sure to impress your family or would be perfect for your next potluck.
This is a very versatile recipe and you can change it up in multiple ways, to fit your taste better – or just to keep it fresh and new every time you make it. And I guarantee you are going to be making it often!
Original Recipe cupcakediaries
USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS
Quick Tip: Instead of pecans you can use other nuts for the crust.
41 Comments
looks so yummy
I have been making this recipe for years! In the 80’s it was a standard. You can change out the pudding flavor and nuts used to suit your tastes! It’s great! You reminded me of it, so think I will make it for Easter dinner!
Karen,
My mother loved lemon dessert bars. When I seen you posted this on March 26, 2016 @ 3:00 pm, I saw this as a sign from my beloved mother who passed on that date and time. God bless you and may your life be blessed. Amen.
ive been making this for yrs, everyone loves it. I use to use kosto brand cook lemon pudding but cant find it or they dont make it any more, but it tasted so much better
To Gina: Google “Kosto Lemon Pudding” and it pops right up. You can still get it and it’s on amazon too. old luck!!
It looks so very good! I will try it.
I’ve made this dessert three times since seeing it on Facebook. I love it and my husband who is not a dessert eater loves it and wants me to keep making it so we won’t run out. Thank you so much for sharing!
I would love the whole recipe for this with the instructions but I could not find it. Lemon pudding is my favorite and would love to make this
http://www.cupcakediariesblog.com/2015/07/lemon-lush-dessert.html
Also great with chocolate or butterscotch.
Ingredients
For the Crust:
1 c. butter, softened but not to room temperature
2 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. pecans, chopped in small pieces
For the Cream Cheese Layer:
2 (8oz) packages Philadelphia cream cheese
1 c. powdered sugar
For the Pudding Layer and Topping
2 small packages Jell-O lemon pudding mix
3 1/2 c. cold milk
1 (16oz) container Kraft Cool Whip
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Stir together butter, flour, sugar, and chopped pecans with a fork.
Press into a 9×13 baking dish and bake 15-20 minutes, or until a light golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.
Beat together cream cheese and sugar until creamy and smooth. Spread over cooled crust.
Whisk together pudding mix and milk. Allow to sit for 5 minutes to thicken up a little, then spread on top of the cream cheese layer. Cover and place in the fridge for 1 hour.
Spread whipped topping over the pudding layer. Cut into 18-24 pieces and garnish with fresh lemon zest.
looks good!
Love to make this dessert!!!!
I also make this with vanilla pudding with coconut added. I put toasted coconut on the top. It is like coconut cream pie.
With all the concern for healthy eating I’ll use real food – whip cream instead of Cool Whip and Lemon Curd instead of Jello.
Looks delicious though I agree that the lemon puddings out today are not the same as they used to be. So I think I will take Gini’s advice and order some of the Kostos brand. This reminds me of a dessert the mother of my friend made every holiday, but it didn’t have a crust and she used different jello flavors in-between layers of cheesecake. So might be able to make this recipe using cherry jello as well. Just a thought. I will try it both ways.
I live in Canada and here the cool whip is sold by 1 litre containers, do I use just one container?
Yep! 🙂
It’s better with a graham cracker crust.
I have also made it with a graham cracker crust especially for people who are allergic to nuts. I double the crust recipe shown on the graham cracker crust box. Delish!
I make this for my husbands birthday it’s called “Sex in a Pan”, I use vanilla and chocolate instant pudding and layer it with cool whip on top. I don’t like pudding but love this.
I made this dessert a few weeks ago for the first time…it was wonderful…..I would never have thought of changing the pudding flavor, as Karen suggested, but I would bet it would taste as good in pistacio, or key lime flavors…something to think about.
Thanks for your pudding suggestions
I’ve made this before. One of my favorites.
I even got someone to try it that said he didn’t like lemon & he thought it was delicious.
Did this recipe call for instant pudding mix or the cooked kind?
would like to have the recipe for the prefect cream cheese pie.
I would like the recipe for the prefect cream cheese pie
We have been making this dessert for years. We like to use filberts for the crust, and other pudding flavors work too. I like lemon the best. We take it to get togethers and it’s always a huge hit!!! It’s still my all time favorite light and delicious dessert. ?❤
I’m going to try it making cupcakes instead of a cake. I’ll use Pecan Sandies for the bottom layer (put whole cookie in paper cup). This is how I make mini cheese cakes, but I use Vanilla Wafers instead. Then I’ll continue on with the cream cheese layer, lemon, and whipped topping as with the cake version. I’m also going to make some with fresh blueberries added to the lemon pudding, and use the zest and a blueberry as a garnish on top. The lemon and blueberry went over really big last year at our Blueberry Festival. I can’t wait to try these! Thanks!
Would a person really need to use 2 pkgs of crème cheese? Seems like a lot. For Cherry cheesecake I’ve only used 1 crème cheese, so 2 seems like too much for this receipe also.
Thanks
Joanne
I Usedbto make this with BUTTERSCOTH
pudding ,with fine chopped walnuts. (In the crust also)And a drizzle of Carmel sauce befire serving—Delicious?
I would like the lemon lush desert.
Marilyn Leyshock
I got this recipe from a co-worker about 30 years ago. She calls it Mom’s Lemon Dessert. My family really enjoys t when I make it. I like to use walnuts in the crust, rather than pecans. I believe I’ve used both at different times.
Instant or regular pudding mix ?
I used the instant pudding and it was fine. Instead of using all the milk called for in this recipe, I cut it by 1/2 cup making mine with just 3 cups of milk and it turned out fine.
Love your recipes and have tried a lot of them. Will try this too.
One thing I wish you would do on your recipes , say how many it serves. When you just need for two. I need to see how to cut the recipe in half.
This is great with chocolate pudding. I don’t like whipped topping so I use whipped cream instead.
Cool Whip is awful, so I will use real whipped cream instead. Also, the puddings today just do not taste as good as I ate as a child. I am trying to find a real lemon pudding recipe to make from scratch.
We have been making this for about 30 year of so. but we called it four layer delight, but no matter the name it is delicious.
I just used a can of lemon pie filling! it was perfect with only 1 8oz pkg cream chesee
When my sons were growing up in the 80’s this was their favorite dessert. I haven’t made this in years. We loved butterscotch, chocolate and lemon. Think I’ll have to make this again soon.