April Fool’s Day is just around the corner and it’s time to start planning the perfect pranks. This year, instead of the classic saran-wrapped toilet seat or fake parking tickets, it’s time to crank it up a notch. There’s nothing that hits home harder than messing with someone’s favorite foods, so why not get creative with it?
When I was a little kid, my mom used to use these tactics to trick us every year, and somehow we would always fall for it. So I decided to take a page out of my mom’s book and put her pranks to the test. This complete meal is full of deceiving tricks that even your most observant foodie friends won’t be able to detect.
Appetizer: “Deviled Eggs”
Photo by Stephanie Cozza
To start off the most deceiving meal of the year, we’re going to keep it simple with a traditional appetizer: deviled eggs. But, watch out, because just like the name suggests, these eggs aren’t as innocent as they may seem.
Instead of filling the center with egg yolk, mayo, mustard or whatever else the normal recipe calls for, this one is a little bit different. Replace the typical filling with yellow buttercream icing in the center of the egg in the same fashion – it will look identical. Next, sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon on top and voila! You have the most devilicious egg known to man.
Main Course: “Chicken Pot Pie” Cookies
Photo by Sophie Sklar
For your main course, it’s time to make every childhood dream come true: dessert for dinner. Except, the person you’re pranking won’t know it’s dessert until after the fact. These shortbread cookies, courtesy of food.com, look almost identical to tiny chicken pot pies. Can you imagine anything more confusing than taking a bite into a warm, savory chicken pot pie and getting a mouthful of sugary cookie and candy?
The “pie crust” of the cookie is the actual shortbread dough, filled with yellow and orange starbursts, green chewy jolly ranchers, and dried banana and apple, which all look like the diced vegetables that typically fill a chicken pot pie. Top it off with vanilla pudding and you’ll be left with a fool-proof “pot pie” to feed to all of your nearest and dearest on April 1st.
Dessert: Meatloaf “Cake”
Photo by Sophie Sklar
Spoiler alert: it’s not actually cake.
This course is exactly the opposite of the last one… dinner for dessert. Every mom has their own “world famous” meatloaf recipe, and this is the perfect opportunity to finally put it to use. However, for those of you who need an alternative, check out this easy recipe instead.
In place of cooking your meatloaf regularly, though, this prank calls for getting baking it in a cake pan. Once it is finished, “frost” it with mashed potatoes, and there you have it – a beautiful cake that will deceive even the biggest sweet-tooths.