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The Easter season is upon us. Can you believe it? I certainly can’t– this year is flying by! One of the things I love about springtime, and about the Easter season, is that the weather is nice and you can finally get out. No more snow to hold you back from visiting friends and neighbors or just enjoying the great weather. But between egg hunts, time with family, and those drop in guests, the Easter season is busy. Who has time to bake during all of that craziness? You. That’s who. Because these awesome lemon white chocolate bars are semi-homemade using NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® White Chip Lemon Refrigerated Cookie Dough, making them quick and easy to prepare (especially if you have unexpected company)!

When things do get a little bit busier during the holidays, I am all about easy. And by easy, I mean open-a-package-and-bake easy. At the same time, I don’t really like sacrificing homemade flavor, which makes semi-homemade treats perfect around here. They’re the perfect combination of quick-and-easy and “I made this lovingly for you!”

To make these delicious, easy bars, I picked up NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® White Chip Lemon Cookie Dough in the refrigerator section at Walmart. Now, if you’re looking for the cookies, you might miss it if you’re looking in the normal refrigerator section where they keep cookie dough– sometimes, like at my local Walmart, the seasonal cookie dough is kept in a center refrigerator section between the milk section and the freezer section.

While there, I also picked up DIGIORNO® pizzeria!™ Supreme Speciale Pizza. It’s really great for feeding a crowd, and since it tastes just like a locally made pizzeria pizza (as the name implies), you’re not waiting on delivery to get to you– you just pop this in the oven when your guests show up at the door! DIGIORNO® pizzeria!™ Supreme Speciale Pizza, along with some other varieties, can be found in– you guessed it– the frozen pizza aisle (I know I just blew your minds with that fact, right?)

I actually really like cooking with refrigerated cookie dough. I remember growing up how my grandma just was not much of a baker. She’s an amazing lady, and I’ve learned so much from her, but baking wasn’t something she was passionate about. It meant that we sometimes made our NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® cookies from the refrigerator section, and it definitely meant that we ate the dough raw (not recommended of course!) on more than one occasion… every time I buy this refrigerated cookie dough, I’m just transported back in time to those warm, delicious cookies.

To make these bars, you’re going to start out by flattening pieces of the white chip lemon dough and pressing them into a greased 9×13 pan.

You’ll use your entire package of cookie dough to make the crust, then bake it according to the package directions, adding a few minutes to the baking time if necessary to get a golden brown color, depending on your oven. Let this cool completely before you move on to the next step of your dessert.

Once the dessert cools, combine 1 cup of powdered sugar, 1 cup of whipped topping, and 1 8-oz block of cream cheese together with a mixer in a medium bowl until well-combined. A few chunks may remain, but it should be mostly smooth. Spread this over the completely cooled cooked crust (completely cooled is a must, so don’t be too hasty– if you do it too soon, this layer will melt!)

In the same bowl, mix two boxes of white chocolate pudding mix with three cups of milk until you reach a good pudding consistency. Spread this over the cream cheese mixture, then cover the pudding mixture gently with the remainder of the whipped topping container (which should have about one cup left in it).

Zest a lemon over the top of the finished dessert, then chill it for 20 minutes or so.

We were hungry and not patient enough to let the dessert chill, so we decided to munch on our DIGIORNO® pizzeria!™ Supreme Speciale Pizza while we waited. I’ll be honest– while I’ve had my fair share of frozen pizzas, especially in my college days, I never really quite expect them to live up to claims that they’re like your local pizza place would make. But this pizza changed my mind– it actually tasted better than the pizza place I usually visit (I’m serious!) I think part of that has to do with the fact that there aren’t any artificial flavors– the pizza is made with premium ingredients, and the sauce uses vine ripened tomatoes. It’s so good because when you bite into it, the crust has this amazing crisp outside, with a really soft, airy inside.

As we polished off the last of the pizza, it was time to cut into the dessert. That’s the great thing about semi-homemade desserts when you have guests… any chill time can be used for catching up while you munch on pizza, and you still have that great, baked with love homemade taste for dessert!

 

I seriously can’t rave enough about this dessert. Everything about it is delicious– it’s airy, with a hint of lemon flavor balanced by white chocolate. It just tastes fresh and light for springtime, which is exactly what you want for an Easter dessert. Everyone has already made it clear that this is a dessert that MUST be on our Easter dinner table this year– I don’t have a choice, it’s that tasty. Luckily, it’s really easy to make, so I’m not complaining at all– one bowl, some beaters, and a 9×13 pan is all you dirty up for this recipe, so it’s even pretty cleanup-friendly! Amazing what you can get done during a busy season when you’re not spending ages making your own crust and cleaning up the dishes.

 

To find out more about the really great flavors you can Bake Some Love with this season, don’t forget to follow NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also learn more about DIGIORNO® pizzeria!™ Pizza, including the new thin crust varieties that are coming soon, by checking out their Facebook and Twitter. Can’t get enough of NESTLÉ®? They have a Youtube channel, so don’t forget to click subscribe, and pick up the ingredients for this yummy recipe the next time you head to Walmart.

Also, if you want another great Easter entertaining recipe, you can check out these Mississippi Mud Cheesy Potatoes, which are always a hit. 

What is definitely on your Easter menu this year? Let me know in the comments below!