My gramma always had a delicious treat waiting for my brother and me when we got home from school. It could be cookies, pudding, or pie, but it was always something yummy. Once I remarked that I’d enjoyed bread pudding at a friend’s house, and the next day I came home to the most delicious bread pudding I have ever tasted.
It’s a wonder my brother and I didn’t weigh 500 pounds.
On hot days my gram would make Lemon Bisque. It’s light, chilled, and refreshing, and I only messed up one little part when I made it.
Lemon Bisque
you need:
2 1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (approximately one box of cookies)
1 can evaporated milk, chilled overnight
1 package lemon Jell-O
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1/2 cup honey
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
grated lemon peel (optional)
Boil one and a quarter cups of water.
Add your Jell-O package to the boiling water, stir until dissolved.
Measure out your other ingredients
Add your honey, salt, lemon juice, and grated lemon peel to the mix. Chill mixture in the fridge until it’s slightly thickened.
Put the entire package of wafers into a plastic bag, then start smashing them.
Take advantage of the situation and get out some anger.
Your smashed cookies are now approximately 2 1/2 cups of crumbs! Nice work.
Put about one and a half cups of crumbs on the bottom of your dish.
Spread them evenly and pat them in place.
Pour your chilled evaporated milk into an also chilled mixing bowl. Do not let your kids distract you! You are making delicious food and need 100% focus.
Whip your evaporated milk until peaks form. I had no idea what this meant. My mom says “until stiff.” Hee hee!
Whipping the milk takes forever and is super boring.
Add your slightly-thickened Jell-O mixture to your whipped milk. This is where I kind of messed up. I let my Jell-O mixture become…Jell-O… by leaving it in the fridge too long. You don’t want it that thick. It wasn’t ruined, but it made the next step harder.
Fold the Jell-O and the milk together. I didn’t know what the hell “folding” was. My mom was over and she was all, “MOVE” and pushed me out of the way. She used a spatula to gently put half the whipped milk on top of the Jell-O, and kept repeating this until the milk and Jell-O were one. Or as “one” as milk and Jell-O can be when the Jell-O is a little too hard. My bad. You do this gently so the milk doesn’t lose its thickness.
Pour the mixture into your dish.
Sprinkle the rest of the cookie crumbs on top.
Chill for at least two hours before serving.
Reward yourself while the bisque cools.
It’s done!
Spoon a helping for your impatient family.
They like it!
Serve six to eight people.
Enjoy!
- 2½ cups vanilla wafer crumbs (approximately one box of cookies)
- 1 can evaporated milk, chilled overnight
- 1 package lemon Jell-O
- 1¼ cups boiling water
- ⅓ - ½ cup honey, depending on how sweet you want your dessert
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- grated lemon peel (optional)
- Mix Jell-O with boiling water, stir until dissolved.
- Add the honey, salt, lemon juice, and lemon peel, stir well.
- Chill mixture until it’s slightly thickened.
- Put the entire package of wafers into a plastic bag, then start smashing them.
- Put about one and a half cups of crumbs on the bottom of your dish and spread evenly.
- Pour your chilled evaporated milk into an also chilled mixing bowl.
- Whip your evaporated milk until peaks form.
- Fold your chilled Jell-O into your whipped milk, then pour the mixture into your dish.
- Sprinkle the rest of the cookie crumbs on top.
- Chill for at least two hours before serving.
Debby Pucci says:
Sounds yummy, thanks!
pgoodness says:
Sounds yummy! And I adore the photos and captions!
meghan says:
looks good! we need an updated house tour! your kitchen is gorgeous!
Josee says:
I was thinking the same thing… with a double oven like the one behind you in the pictures; no WONDER you want to start cooking! Way ta go!
Nancyedh says:
I want that.
Will you come organize my refrigerator?
jenny says:
If you can do it, I can do it!! This weekend!
steph anne says:
Haha, awesome. I think the best thing about this is seeing how many Diet Cokes you have in the fridge. Ours is like that too!
Daisy says:
The picture of you giving Annie the Mommy Eyes cracks me up. The recipe looks pretty good too. I have a few recipes like that from my great granny, one for a rum cake that I plan on showcasing soon.
Jackson Walker III says:
I’m going to the store right now. This looks fabulous.
NotAMeanGirl says:
This sounds YUMMY! What would you suggest substituting for the honey though? (Believe it or not I am ALLERGIC to honey. It gives me… um… HIVES. I kidd you not!)
Heather says:
yikes! We don’t want that. I consulted with my friends that actually DO know how to cook, and they suggest corn syrup. If you don’t want to use that, light molasses could also do the trick!
Brandy says:
I love lemon – can’t wait to try this!
Linnee says:
Sandra Lee would love these recipes. So many canned and boxed “ingredients.”
Natalie says:
Can’t you use that beautiful red KitchenAid to beat the milk?! It catches my eye every time!
Leigh Elliott says:
Have to say, I don’t think I would try this based on the name alone, but seeing the finished product, heck yes I would! that looks so yummy!
I have all of my Nana’s recipes and also have my great-grandmothers recipes. I treasure them. I feel connected to them whenever I thumb through the recipe boxes, and see all the stains and smudges.
I used to work in a cooking school and one little trick I learned there was before you measure your honey, honey, spray some non-stick cooking spray in the measuring cup. Then add the honey. When you go to dump out the measuring cup, the honey slides right out! Super easy clean up too.
Brianne says:
Wondering why you used a hand mixer when there is a standmixer behind you? It would take the super boring part out of whipping the milk
Heather says:
If I’d known how long it would take, I WOULD have used the standmixer!
Kristin says:
I’m not much of a lemon fan, but this does look good! May have to try making this with my daughter. I second the commenter about wanting a tour of the new house! We’ve seen the before-move photo, now we need the after-move pics. (that’s really the only reason I ever watch House Hunters)
Maren says:
Best.Pictoral.Recipe.Ever! Please cook more, and make sure we get to see your commentary through your facial expressions. Awesome. When I make this, I will try to match them
Jenny says:
This recipe looks great! I will definitely try it! Thanks.
So… Is that a 1-day supply of DC for Mike?
Heather says:
Yeah, and what you don’t see is the box of diet coke chilling on the OTHER side of the fridge!
AmazingGreis says:
Wow, another recipe.
I don’t even know you any more! I do, however, expect home cooked sweets/food next time I come over!!
Rebecca says:
That sounds fabulous!!! Wanna come cook for me? I have a very sweet 6 year old and a 4 year old who is so funny and friendly you’ll love him a lot.
Rebecca says:
I just made this…..and I licked the bowl after f0lding the mixtures together………I think the honey could be cut in half. It’s really very sweet. But DELICIOUS.
Carmen says:
YES! The honey is a little overpowering and I wanted a good lemon dessert. BUT – I see why now. Gramma’s recipe calls for 1/3 cup, but the printed reciped says 1/2 cup. I’ll bet the 1/3 cup is perfect.
Heather says:
I checked and I actually have two recipes of hers – one calls for the 1/2 cup, one calls for 1/3! So it’s all personal preference, I guess!
Molly says:
oh honey…KitchenAid needs to send you a stand mixer. I don’t even COOK and I love mine!
Sue says:
These little cooking segments are really great, Heather. I’m enjoying them so much. I was wondering the same thing as Natalie & Brianne as to why you don’t use that beautiful KitchenAid, sitting there on the counter, to whip the milk.
Heather says:
next time!
Stephanie says:
This looks delicious! I’m loving the recipes series of posts – keep ’em coming!
Mommy says:
Great recipe and I love how cute and creative you are with your pictures!! Oh and your kitchen is AMAZING!! I am beyond jealous!!!
On a side note, I remember you posting that your mom said you guys needed to clean more. Se must be so proud of you because your house looks pristine in all of your posts! So you have time to take care of that delicious Annie, post hilarious/adorable things on your blog, clean the house AND cook delicious things now too?? Way to make the rest of us look bad, Spohr!! Thanks a lot!
Heather says:
LOL! Don’t be hard on yourself – we literally haven’t had enough time to make the house dirty yet! Just wait.
Anthony from CharismaticKid says:
I love how you are looking around while you taste the batter. Naughty lady!
amourningmom says:
Thanks for sharing! And, more cooking in the new kitchen! Take care.
Andrea says:
That looks scrumptious! I will have to try it soon
P.S I love the family pics on your kitchen counter! Nice touch!
Jaime young says:
I love the one side of the fridge lined in Diet coke cans!
Angela says:
I made it today and it is YUMMY!
Molly says:
This looks delish.
You are so pretty. Just wanted to tell you so.
Heather says:
you are my new favorite person!
JENNY says:
This is just a suggestion: You could outdo Mike’s dare by trying 2 meals or recipes per week. It might be fun to see the recipes that people would submit for you to try (ranked easy, medium, hard?).
If you’re going to be a bear, be a grizzly.
Laura says:
I made this. I beat that darn milk for about 15 min and it STILL didn’t have peaks. I just have a hand mixer so I got bored quick. It was stiff enough so I came back 10 min later to add the jello mix and it had already started to turn back into its original consistency!!!! I dumped it together anyway. It’s good but don’t think I’ll make it again. It isn’t the prettiest in the dish either. But it does taste good, so thanks.
MJP says:
Made it and it was very good. Tasted like the filling from lemon meringue pie. Tip for the milk. Chill milk, bowl and beaters, use a deep narrow bowl. Doing this mine set up in about two minutes.
Erin says:
Hi – I found this while making my own lemon bisque recipe, and I have a suggestion. After putting your Jello mixture in the fridge and letting it set slightly (I put it in for about 90 min), my family recipe has me beat the Jello until light and fluffy (took about 20 min). Also, I use 1.5C sugar instead of honey. Even if you leave it in the fridge too long, it still whips up nice and fluffy.
Ann says:
I was blown away when I found this recipe from my childhood. We are from central Ohio. My best friend’s grandmother made this for my mom when she had to have all of her teeth pulled over 60 years ago. Some 40 plus years later, after we moved to Texas, another friend served it to our Mah Jongg club. I’m guessing this was a recipe from the Midwest. I love it! Thanks for sharing the pics.
Sammie Swanks says:
I am so thrilled!! On a whim, I typed in lemon bisque in Pinterest, never expecting to have any luck. I’ve never known even what to call it. I just guessed. The cooks in both my elementary and high school used to serve this and I was crazy about it! They made it with graham crackers. I can’t wait to make it! Thanks so much. You are a darling young lady with a beautiful family.
Jeanne Flournoy says:
One really important step is missing. Whip the chilled Jello until light and frothy. Then fold it into the whipped milk mixture. This produces a light mousse-like dessert. My mom’s recipe is identical except for this step. I really think you will love it. ?
Carolyn says:
Great recipe—just like my Grandma’s! LOVED your photos & comments!
Rowena says:
This is the same exact recipe that my mom always made! All my sisters & I have it. Everyone loves it. It’s good to make for a hot day. I whip the evaporated milk in a stand mixer (easier on the arms). When I get stiff peaks, I keep whipping as I blend in the jello mixture, instead of folding it in. It always comes out just fine.