FOOD RECIPES : NO ROLL JELLY ROLL

NO ROLL JELLY ROLL Food Recipes, Last year, I posted a recipe for an old fashioned jelly roll cake.  I heard from several people who said they had fond memories of their mom or grandma making jelly rolls, but they were afraid to make one themselves because they were nervous about rolling the cake.

Rolling the cake isn't hard, as long as you follow a few strict rules, but it IS messy with all of the "sprinkle towel with powdered sugar" stuff. That is why I came up with this "NO ROLL JELLY ROLL".  I think it is every bit as pretty as the classic jelly roll Grandma used to make but it is MUCH EASIER !!

This is definitely going on my holiday table this year

Basically, I baked the same 10 x 15 sponge cake that I use in the jelly roll, but I cut it into thirds and stacked them with jam in between each layer and on the top, then drizzled vanilla glaze over. I'm very happy with how it turned out. It is so simple, I know I will be making it a lot more often.

3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon butter extract (see note)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup water (see note)
1 cup CAKE FLOUR
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup jelly or jam  (see note)

Preheat oven to 375 then line a 10" x 15" pan with parchment paper and spray the paper with cooking spray, set aside.

Beat the eggs, on high, until very thick and lemon colored (takes about 5 minutes).  After five minutes, and while the mixer is still running on high, slowly add the sugar.

Put the butter extract into a 1/3 measuring cup and then fill the cup with water (extract + water should = 1/3 cup). Add the extract-water and vanilla extract to the egg mixture and mix well.

Sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt into the egg mixture and beat just until the batter is smooth (I do this step with a whisk).

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated 375 oven for 12-15 minutes (my electric oven takes 15 minutes) or until toothpick in center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and slide a sharp knife around the edges of the cake to loosen them.  Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing.

Place waxed paper or saran wrap on a cookie sheet (spray the paper/plastic wrap with cooking spray) and turn the cake out onto the cookie sheet.  This will help you transport the cake while its still hot.  The cake is much easier to cut and handle if its chilled, so I put the cake in the freezer for about half an hour before I tried to cut it.

When you are ready to assemble the cake, slice a VERY THIN edge off of each side of the cake (not necessary, but looks prettier).  Cut the cake in thirds.

Place the bottom layer on a serving plate and spread with jam (stir the jam to loosen it up before spreading). Repeat with next two layers.

Spread jam on the top of the cake and then drizzle with vanilla glaze. 

VANILLA GLAZE

1/3 cup melted butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon almond extract

2 tablespoons milk

Mix all together with a whisk.

NOTE: This recipe works best with a jam that doesn't have big pieces of fruit in it. Personally, I like Smuckers Simply Fruit; it not only tastes great but its PERFECT for this cake. Just make sure you stir or whisk the jam before spreading it, it will soften up and get smooth.

NOTE: If you do not have butter extract, just double the vanilla extract.

NOTE: This cake gets more moist after it sits for a few hours because the jam sinks into the cake a little.

NO ROLL JELLY ROLL FOOD RECIPES
By Coleen Marie

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MINI OREO CHEESECAKES

MINI OREO CHEESECAKES Food Recipes, I served these little gems on Christmas Eve and they were a HUGE hit. Not only do they taste fantastic, but they are nearly fool proof.  Not a single crack in any of them and they go together in a snap. 

The only "extra" step, is that they really need to sit in the fridge overnight after baking (to soften the cookie crust), but this step is WELL WORTH IT. You can eat them as soon as they are chilled, but the cookie will still be crunchy.  If you let them sit in the fridge overnight, the cookie almost becomes part of the cheesecake...scrumptious.

24 Oreo cookies (divided)
1 pound of cream cheese (room temperature)
1/2  cup granulated sugar
1/2  cup sour cream
2  large eggs (lightly beaten)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place 6 (original) Oreo cookies in the food processor and process into fine crumbs (set aside). Preheat your oven to 275 F and put 18 cupcake papers in your cupcake pan. Place a whole Oreo cookie in the base of each cupcake paper and set aside.

With your electric mixer (I used my stand mixer with a paddle attachment), mix the cream cheese on medium speed for three minutes.  Add the sugar and vanilla and mix for another 2 minutes on medium speed, or until very smooth. Add the lightly beaten eggs and mix on LOW until well combined. Fold in the sour cream and cookie crumbs with a spatula.

Fill the cupcake papers almost to the top (I used an ice cream scoop and it seemed to be the perfect measurement). Bake in preheated 275 oven for 30 minutes.

Once they are baked, leave them in the cupcake pan and immediately put them in the fridge. Chill overnight.  Delicious !!!

MINI OREO CHEESECAKES FOOD RECIPES
By Coleen Marie

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BRANDY SNAPS

BRANDY SNAPS Food Recipes,

BRANDY SNAPS

 

This fun recipe is super quick and very impressive!!  It is basically a crisp, sweet, lacy, candy shell with whipped cream in it. The shells can be made up several days in advance, then filled with sweetened  whipped cream just before serving.

2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons white corn syrup
1/4 cup butter  (I used only 3 tablespoons)
2 teaspoons brandy (or) 1 teaspoon vanilla (I used rum extract)
1/4 cup all purpose flour

Since this whole process goes VERY fast, it is best to have everything ready before you start cooking the above ingredients. Preheat your oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (important). These candy shells REALLY spread as they cook, so only plan on making six of them on each cookie sheet.

Mix the sugar, corn syrup and butter in a small saucepan. STIR over medium heat until the mixture is good and bubbling, then remove from heat and stir in the flour and flavoring.

Drop one (measuring teaspoon) per candy shell) of the cooked mixture onto the parchment paper. This will spread out into a circle about 4" in diameter as it bakes for about 6 to 7 minutes, but watch them very carefully, as they go from caramel colored to DARK very fast. It sounds tricky, but it isn't. My candy circles were fairly pale in color until they hit the 6 minute mark in my electric oven, but they were a beautiful light caramel color at 6½ minutes.

When they have turned a nice light caramel color, remove from the oven and let them sit on the cookie sheet for about 30 seconds. If they look a little oily, LIGHTLY dab them with a paper towel.

Use a pointed knife and lift the edge of the candy circle up a little so that you can grab it with your fingers (be careful, this is VERY  hot). One at a time, quickly roll the candy circle around the handle of a wooden spoon (they will cool almost immediately and hold their shape). Once you form it around the spoon handle, it will instantly be cool enough to slide the candy tube off of the handle, and it's done!!  If the other candies get too "hard" to roll, put them back in the oven for 30 seconds or so (but that shouldn't be a problem, as they stay fairly pliable as long as they are on the hot cookie sheet), they only become solid (or rigid) once they cool off.

I didn't use a spoon handle, I used some metal cannoli tubes I have and they worked perfectly (no need to grease the spoon handle).

Keep the cooled candy tubes in an air tight container until you are ready to serve them. Fill them with sweetened whipped cream (the candy tubes can be filled up to about an hour before serving).

Don't be scared off by any of my "warnings' about this recipe, it may sound complicated, but it really is super simple and I hope you try it.

NOTE: I substituted rum extract for the vanilla, the candy tasted like butterscotch. I think ANY extract would work.

NOTE: You don't have to fill these with whipped cream. Almost any mousse like whipped filling would work wonderfully.
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BRANDY SNAPS FOOD RECIPES
By Coleen Marie

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PECAN PIE BARS

PECAN PIE BARS Food Recipes,

Picky-picky Hubby says these pecan pie bars are totally addictive. They have a buttery shortbread crust and a nutty (and slightly gooey) baked topping with a great pecan pie taste.

I have to admit that my budget doesn't allow pecans right now (they are almost $10 for a 2 cup bag!!), so I use walnuts, but they are ever so tasty just the same!! I am planning on adding these to my Christmas cookie trays (I'll splurge on pecans for Christmas though).

CRUST
2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter (room temperature)

Mix the above crust ingredients and press into a 9" x 13" baking dish (see note below about greasing pan). This mixture will seem crumbly, but don't worry about that. Just pat it evenly into the pan.  Bake in preheated 350 oven for 20 minutes. While the crust is baking, mix up the topping:

TOPPING
3 eggs well beaten
1 cup light corn syrup (like Karo syrup)
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 + 2/3 cup chopped pecans (toasted a little)

Mix well and pour over partially baked crust, making sure the nuts are evenly spread. Return to the 350 degree oven and bake for 25 more minutes.

Cool completely in pan before cutting.

NOTE:  The pecan pie bar crust does not stick to the pan, but around the edges of the topping, it does tend to stick. To combat that, I lined my 9" x 13" glass dish with foil. I didn't grease the bottom, but I greased the sides of the foil a little (the new Reynolds Easy Release foil would be good for this). 

Also, let the foil ends hand over the edges of the baking dish a little bit so you can grab the foil "tails" and lift the baked (and cooled) bars out of the pan for easier cutting.

When the bars are completely cool, just lift the whole thing out of the pan and onto a cutting board.They are rich, so cut the bars small.
PECAN PIE BARS FOOD RECIPES
By Coleen Marie

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