April is National Grilled Cheese Month. There are got lots of grilled cheese recipes on TheNibble.com, but here’s something new: a mash-up of a grilled cheese sandwich with Eggs Benedict.

The recipe is from the Grilled Cheese Academy, which has dozens of amazing grilled cheese sandwich recipes made with Wisconsin cheese.

RECIPE: GRILLED CHEESE BENEDICT

Ingredients For 4 Servings

Preparation

1. HEAT 3-4 quarts water to just below the boiling point. Add the vinegar and a pinch of salt. Gently stir the water and lower the heat so water is simmering.

2. CRACK the eggs into the water one at a time and poach gently for 4-5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and season with salt and pepper to taste. As the eggs cook…

3. HEAT a griddle or skillet over medium heat and fry the Canadian bacon until lightly browned. Remove from the griddle and set the bacon aside.

4. ADD 1 tablespoon of butter to skillet. Spread the cut side of each English muffin’s bottom half with 1 tablespoon Sharp Cheddar cheese spread. Place in the heated skillet and top each half with 1 slice Gouda, about 1 ounce spinach, 2 slices Canadian bacon and 1 slice tomato.

5. COOK over medium heat until the cheese is melted. Remove to a plate and top each with a poached egg. Serve open-faced with remaining muffin halves, toasted and buttered, on the side.
 
  

While not an April Fool joke, it seems like the right dessert for April Fool’s Day.

The recipe was created by Michael Stambaugh of the El Conquistador Resort in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for a recipe contest held by the National Pasta Association and the Culinary Institute of America. It won third place.

After you master this recipe, you may develop your own ideas for variations on the theme of dessert lasagna.

We’ve got 11 more recipes for dessert pasta. Take a look.

RECIPE: DESSERT LASAGNA

Ingredients For 8 Servings

Preparation

1. COOK the pasta according to package directions, substituting 2 tablespoons of sugar for the salt. Rinse, drain and set aside.

2. STIR together the ricotta cheese and ½ cup sugar in a medium bowl. Set aside.

3. PURÉE 4 kiwis with 2 tablespoons sugar in a food processor. Transfer the purée to a bowl and set aside. Rinse the processor bowl.

4. PURÉE half the strawberries with 2 tablespoons sugar in the food processor. Strain the purée into a bowl and set aside. Rinse the processor bowl.

5. PURÉE half the blackberries with 2 tablespoons sugar in the food processor. Strain the purée and set aside.

6. SLICE the remaining kiwis into ¼-inch thick rounds. Slice the strawberries into 1/8-inch thick pieces. Slice the blackberries in half.

To Assemble The Lasagna

1. RESERVE 1/4 cup of each of the purées to use as a garnish.

2. COVER the bottom of a 9-inch-by-13-inch glass baking pan with 3 lasagna noodles. Spoon 1/3 of the ricotta on top and spread it evenly.

3. POUR the kiwi purée over the cheese and arrange the kiwi slices on top of the purée. Lay 3 more lasagna noodles on top and cover with 1/2 the remaining cheese.

4. POUR the strawberry purée over the cheese and sprinkle with sliced strawberries. Lay 3 more lasagna noodles on top and cover with the remaining cheese. Pour the blackberrys purée over the cheese and sprinkle with blackberries. Top with a final layer of pasta. Cover tightly with plastic and refrigerate overnight.

5. TO SERVE: Sprinkle the lasagna with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and with the toasted almonds. Cut into 8 rectangles and use a spatula to set the pieces on dessert plates. Decorate the plates with dots of the reserved purées. Garnish each piece of lasagna with a strawberry and a sprig of mint.

This is not a cookie dough dip, ready to be devoured.

It has the texture of homemade cookie dough, and it does have chocolate chips. But it’s actually a better-for-you chickpea dip in disguise.

April Fool!

Thanks to our friends at Parents.com, who sent the recipe our way. Whip it up and see how many people you can fool.

RECIPE: FAUX COOKIE DOUGH DIP

Ingredients

1. BLEND in a food processor the chickpeas, brown sugar, peanut butter, oats, milk, vanilla, salt and baking soda.

2. FOLD in the chocolate chips. Serve with apple slices or other fresh fruit. And don’t tell anyone until they’re finished eating. Then you can say: April Fool: It was bean dip!

The recipe, developed by Katie Higgins of ChocoalteCoveredKatie.com was originally published in the April 2014 issue of FamilyFun.

Here’s last year’s trompe-l’oeil April Fool recipe, “Grilled Cheese Sandwich & Tomato Soup.”
 
APRIL FOOL’S DAY HISTORY

The origin of April Fools’ Day, sometimes called All Fools’ Day, is obscure. The most accepted explanation traces it to 16th century France.

Until 1564, the Julian calendar, which observed the beginning of the New Year in April, was in use. According to The Oxford Companion to the Year, King Charles IX then declared that France would begin using the Gregorian calendar, which shifted New Year’s Day to January first.

Some people continued to use the Julian Calendar, and were mocked as fools. They were invited to bogus parties, sent on a fool’s errand (looking for things that don’t exist) and other pranks.

The French call April first Poisson d’Avril, or April Fish. French children sometimes tape a picture of a fish on the back of their schoolmates, crying “Poisson d’Avril” when the prank is discovered.

What a fish has to do with April Fool’s Day is not clear. But in the name of a kinder, gentler world, we propose eliminating this holiday. (Source: Wikipedia)
  

Often they were yeast breads, filled with luxurious ingredients such as almonds, candied citrus peel and other candied and dried fruits, cinnamon, and saffron. Some loaves were decorated with colored eggs or sugar, elaborately braided or shaped into doves. Most are sweet, some are savory.

Most of the recipes are European, with a few South American specialties. Add one or more of these 21 Easter breads to your celebration. Head to a bakery in your town, or find recipes online.

BABKA FROM EASTERN EUROPE

Babka is a rich yeast loaf that is now enjoyed year-round. Made with butter, eggs and raisins, is native to Poland and the Ukraine. A savory version is made with cheese.
 
CHIPA FROM PARAGUAY

This cheese bread has a dense, chewy texture, similar to a bagel or bialy.

This rich, sweet dough, topped with sliced almonds, is sweetened with the mahleb, a spice ground from wild cherry pits that’s also used in the tsouréki yeast bread from Greece (below).
 
COLOMBA DI PASQUA FROM ITALY
The dough for is similar to panettone, with flour, eggs, sugar, yeast and butter. Unlike panettone, it usually contains candied peel but no raisins. The dough is then fashioned into a dove shape (colomba in Italian) and topped with pearl sugar and almonds. Some modern versions use a chocolate topping.
 
FOLAR DE PÁSCOA FROM PORTUGAL

Also called Five-Egg Easter Bread, this round yeast loaf is sectioned into five triangles, each with a hard boiled egg nestled on top.
 
GUBANA FROM ITALY

From the Friuli region, this strudel-like bread is made from a cocoa dough and filled with pine nuts, raisins and walnuts.
 
HORNAZO FROM SPAIN

This savory yeast loaf is stuffed with hard boiled egg and sausage—typically chorizo.
 
HOT CROSS BUNS FROM ENGLAND

Commonly found in the U.S. as well, raisin-filled yeast buns are marked with a cross of white icing.
 
KOULOURAKIA FROM GREECE

These crisp breakfast biscuits, originating on the Aegean island of Ikaria, are sweetened with honey.
 
KOUZNAK FROM BULGARIA

An eggy dough is mixed with lemon zest, nuts and raisins. It can be oblong or round, or braided and studded with eggs, like Greek tsouréeki.

This dome-shaped yeast bread is brushed with an egg wash or white glaze, and typically garnished with brightly colored sugar, candied orange peel, chopped almonds and currants. The dough can be mixed with candied citrus, cardamom, nuts, raisins and saffron (photo at right).

PANE DI PASQUA FROM ITALY

This means “Easter bread,” a generic term that can take many forms. One popular shape is a braided ring with a red-tinted hard boiled egg in the center—a riff on Greek tsouréki. Also see torta pasqualina, below.

 
PAO DOCE FROM PORTUGUAL

This lightly sweet, golden loaf is scented with saffron.
 
PAASBROOD FROM HOLLAND

Almond paste is the signature filling of this sweet loaf, along with golden raisins (sultanas) and candied lemon peel.
 
PAASSTOL FROM HOLLAND

Also known as sirnica, this sweet, eggy, buttery bread especially popular in Dalmatia and Istria. Pinca is similar to a briche and is traditionally shaped into a round loaf with a cross cut into the surface, like hot cross buns. Flavorings citrus zest, raisins and rum. Similar to hot cross buns, it is eaten on Good Friday to celebrate the end of Lent.

 
PULLA FROM FINLAND

This braided loaf is infused with cardamom.
 
TORTA PASQUALINA FROM ITALY

In Liguria, the special Easter bread is savory, consisting of thin layers of unleavened dough alternating with a stuffing made of sautéed chard, spinach and/or artichokes plus eggs and cheese, accented with nutmeg. Arugula, asparagus, chicory and radicchio can also be used.
 
TSOURÉKI FROM GREECE

This classic Greek Easter bread dates back to Byzantine times. By the Christian era, red-colored boiled eggs, symbolizing the blood and rebirth of Christ, were tucked into the braids. The rich yeast dough is flavored with orange peel and a charming spice called mahleb (mahlepi, makhlépi), ground from the pits of wild cherries. Other traditional spices include anise seeds and mastic (photo at top).
 
VELIKONOCNI KRUHKI FROM SLOVENIS

These sweet buns are flavored with candied citron, cardamom, ground almonds, lemon zest and raisins, vanilla and brushed with an egg wash.
 
VELKYOS PYRAGAS FROM LITHUANIA

This sweet yeast bread is studded with golden raisins (sultanas).

 
If we haven’t included your favorite Easter bread, let us know!
  

There’s still time to order these luscious, hand-painted Easter eggs from Chocolat Moderne.

Decorated with splashy and colorful abandon in the style of Fauvism, each egg measure 3″ x 2″ and weighs 46g, the average size of four of bonbons.

You can buy an assortment ($49 for six eggs or $27 for three eggs) or a smaller box containing one egg ($10). There are:

 
Make someone happy. Head to ChocolatModerne.com.

Large, hand-painted Easter eggs. Photo courtesy Chocolat Moderne.