Perfect Pumpkin Roll and Last Chance For Giveaway

Every year around Christmas, my husband and I have a tradition of making pumpkin rolls for friends and co-workers.  We usually make between 20-40+ each year and have been doing this for at least 15 years.  It is one of our most requested desserts, so I would like to share the recipe with you and tips for making this yummy holiday treat.

 

Pumpkin Roll:

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup pumpkin
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
dash of pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Filling:

4 tablespoons margarine
8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup 10x sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

(Extra 10x sugar will be needed for paper towels and to sprinkle on top)
(Crisco and flour to needed to prepare pan)

One pumpkin rolls makes approximately 10 servings.

Directions:

Beat 3 eggs for 5 minutes on high speed of your mixer, reduce speed and slowly stir in 1 cup sugar, stir in 2/3 cup pumpkin, 3/4 c flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and dash of pumpkin pie spice.  Spread in well greased (I use crisco stick) and floured 11x17 jelly roll pan.  Sprinkle chopped walnuts on top if desired.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10-11 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool in pan for 2 minutes, then loosen edges and under the roll with a cake knife.  Flip onto 10x powdered paper towels, roll in paper towels and cool 1/2 hour on a baking rack.

Unroll and spread with filling.  Re-roll without the paper towels, sprinkle with additional 10x sugar.

Helpful Tips:

*Use an 11x17 jelly roll pan for best cake to filling ratio.
*When greasing the pan, remember to grease and flour both bottom and sides.

Tools you will need.  Use the cake knife (in center) to spread the pumpkin mixture in the pan and later for loosening it from the pan.

Mixture spread evenly in the pan and bake.

Loosening the pumpkin roll.

* For best results, use 2 sets of 2 connected paper towels to roll up the pumpkin roll.  Overlap the second set on top of the first and sprinkle well with 10x.

Flipping the pumpkin roll onto the 10x powdered towels.

Rolled it in paper towels to cool.

A few of the pumpkin rolls we make.  If making a large quantity, move them around the workspace during cooling so the heat does not make a wet spot on the bottom of the roll or use a baking rack.

*When making the filling, allow the margarine and cream cheese to soften before use.  Add margarine first and then cut cream cheese into small pieces and gradually add them to the beating margarine.  Mix the filling well.  I use a rubber spatula halfway through and thoroughly scrape the bowl and then re-beat with the mixer.

*After the pumpkin roll has cooled, unroll it and use a pizza cutter to trim off a tiny bit of the edges on the long sides of the roll--that way every serving has very soft edges.

Spread the filling on the pumpkin roll with the cake knife and roll up from the short end.

*After dusting the top of the finished pumpkin roll, I cut the roll in half with a serrated knife and wrap each half in plastic wrap and box them.

 *I always freeze the pumpkin roll at least overnight to make them nice and moist.  These will keep for several weeks in the freezer.  For my small family, I thaw one-half in the refrigerator on the day that we will eat it.  Slice with a serrated knife and serve cold.  Enjoy!

Remember only one day left to sign up for my ornament giveaway.  To enter, go to my last post titled "O Come Emmanuel" and leave a brief comment in the comment box below the post. Then follow by email (see the upper right side of my blog to sign up.)  Good luck!  Winner will be announced tomorrow at 5PM.

This post can also be seen at:
http://www.stonegableblog.com/the-scoop-149/
http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/2014/12/wow-us-wednesdays-200.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SavvySouthernStyle+%28Savvy+Southern+Style%29avvy+Southern+Style%29
http://www.frommyfrontporchtoyours.com/2014/12/treasure-hunt-thursday-186-highlights.html

O Come Emmanuel and A Giveaway

It happened again today!  While I was in the post office mailing a package, the postal clerk was humming the tune, O Come O Come Emmanuel.  Tears started to well up in my eyes, but I guess I should back up to the beginning of the story.  It was  just a few weeks ago, on Sunday morning, November 30.  I was sitting up in the balcony (the nosebleed section) of our large church.  Before the service even started, the tears were rolling down my cheeks.  I don't know about you, but once I start crying, it can be  hard to stop the flow, even if I'm laughing so hard that it makes me cry.  However, this was not the case.  Let me explain.

Did you ever ride on a bus where there were no seats left and you had to stand.  When the road gets bumpy, you reach out to grasp the back of a seat or anything within reach.  Not the most pleasant thing to deal with.  For the last 20 years I have been on that bus, day in and day out.  I feel like I am in constant motion.  The doctors call it Vertigo--from inner ear problems.   So there I was sitting in church  and having an all too familiar bumpy moment.

The sermon was about loss and the hardships we face in life.  Our pastor shared a video of two women in our church who have both gone through the tragic loss of their husbands this last year.  (See the first of several very helpful video sermons here):  http://vimeo.com/113285835 .  Then he made some comment about our struggles and that we may not understand why God allows difficulties in our lives but, "God is With You."  I don't know about you, but sometimes when God is speaking to me, I don't always hear him right away.  He has to repeat it to me 2 to 3 times until it clicks.  So the next morning, I wake up to the radio playing, "O Come O Come Emmanuel"  and I know that Emmanuel means "God With Us".  Okay, it's starting to register.  Over the next 2 weeks I heard it OVER and OVER again umpteen times in so many different way that "God is With Me" and I not only heard God speak to me through all these reminders, but I'm to the point where I BELIEVE that He "IS" with me--it sunk in.

If you are a believer in Jesus and have "Emmanuel" as your savior and friend, then you can be assured that "He IS With You" no matter what struggles or losses you are going through.   Knowing Christ in a personal way is like "Emmanuel WITH us and IN us" and his incredible peace and grace is available to us no matter what difficulty we are facing.  So this year, remember that you don't have to be alone in your struggles or if you just feel lonely.  He is there waiting for you.  Just invite him into your life.  It's a free gift.

Speaking of gifts--I'm having a giveaway.  To enter, sign up to receive my emails and then leave a comment below.  Winner will receive a set of two of my handmade and hand-painted ornaments.  I'll announce the winner on Tuesday, Dec. 16. 

Winter Folk Art Painting - Peaceful Valley

I just finished a new 16x20" original painting titled "Peaceful Valley" that is now available at Dutchland Galleries (dutchlandgalleries.com).

It's a peaceful snowy evening and church just let out.  Skaters are enjoying the frozen pond and the hot chocolate and gingerbread cookies will soon be ready in the barn.   Some of the woodland animals are coming out to play.  See if you can spot the rabbits, a fox, a deer, and of course--the little black cat.

Make sure you sign up for emails, as tomorrow I will have a special giveaway that you won't want to miss!

Giant Music Snowflake Tutorial

Today, I am going to show you how to make this beautiful sparkly giant snowflake (no saw needed).

 First you will need 2 snowflake placemats.  I purchased mine at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Hot Glue 16 popsicle sticks to one of the snowflakes.  This will make the snowflake sturdy. (Six of them need to be cut with a heavy duty scissors as shown to fit the smaller areas).  When your popsicle sticks are set, hot glue the other snowflake on top to hide the popsicle sticks.  Tip:  I matched the design and hot glued the center together first, then hot glued the outer parts of the snowflake.

When the hot glue is set, you will need to paint the snowflake with regular acrylic craft paint.  I used a neutral color.  Don't skip this step, as you need to harden the placemats so that they will be non-porous and ready to accept glue in the next step.  Do not spray paint, it will just soak in.  I only painted one side and all the edges.  Allow to dry completely overnight.  I know, this is very tedious, but it will be worth it!

For the next step,  I used Elmer's Clear Glue to glue 3 music sheets together.  I measured the sheets to fit the snowflake and trimmed a little of the center of the 2 whole sheets before gluing them together to eliminate some of the extra border  and cut the third music sheet in half and glued one to the top and one to the bottom.  Allow the sheets to dry completely.  I dried mine overnight while the painted snowflake was drying.

Place the dried snowflake on the back side of the music sheet (painted side down) and trace the outlines with a mechanical pencil.  You can use a little scotch tape at the top and bottom to hold it in place. 

 

Then, using an Exacto knife, cut out the design on a protected surface.

Use Elmer's Clear Glue to attach the music sheet to the flake.  Tip:  Use a paint brush to spread the glue.  Attach from the center out applying glue as you go to the outer edges.  Allow to dry overnight.  When partially dry, I turned mine upside-down to allow the weight of the snowflake to iron out any bubbles in the paper.  It may look wrinkled in some areas, but it will be flat when completely dry.  When dry, place and attach 3/4" mirrors with hot glue (available at your local craft store). I used 10 mirrors. Tip:  I used an Exacto knife to cut out a spot beneath the mirrors for a sturdier hold.  I also did this for the center of the snowflake for the next step.

Cut a 2" Smoothfoam styrofoam ball in half.  Spread with glue and silver glitter.  When dry attach to center of snowflake with hot glue.

Hot glue silver tinsel cord around center and silver chenille wire around mirrors.  To finish, apply Elmer's Clear Glue just on music areas with a paint brush and sprinkle with your favorite clear glitter.  Allow to dry.  Attach a hanging cord and you are done.  These may take several hours to make plus some overnight drying time, but they are well worth your time!

Supply List:

2 Felt Snowflakes, Hot Glue, Elmer's Clear Glue, Neutral Color Craft Paint, 3 Sheet Music, Exacto Knife, Heavy Duty Scissors, 16 popsicle sticks,  1-  2" Smooth Styrofoam Ball cut in half, Tinsel Cord, Chenille Wire, 3/4" Round Mirrors, Glitter, Hanging Cord.

You can also see this post at:

http://confessionsofaplateaddict.blogspot.com/2014/12/please-join-me-for-scoop-148.html