Punch Bowl Cake

Punchbowl Cake

1 German Chocolate Cake Mix - made according to directions on the box, baked and cooled.
2 small pkg. Instant Chocolate Pudding - made up one at a time as directed on box. Keep separated
1 lg container of Cool Whip
6 Skore or Heath Bars (or 1/2 bag of Heath Bits)

Crumble 1/2 of the cooled cake into a punch bowl (or other large bowl). Mix up one pudding as directed and spread over the cake (I like to let the pudding set first so the cake doesn't get soggy, but some people like it soaked into the cake. To each his own I guess). Spread over the cake. Spread 1/2 of the cool whip on top. Crush 3 candy bars (in a zip lock bag with something hard used to crush them) and sprinkle over the cool whip. Repeat all layers. Refrigerate.

*This wasn't listed on the original recipe, but I used a vegetable peeler to make some yummy chocolate curls to make it look pretty on top of the last layer, in part because I could find Heath bits with chocolate. Weird. Anyway, try it out. This is such a good recipe!

Pretzel Salad

Here you go Linds!

Ingredients:
Crust:
-2 c. Pretzels, crushed
-3/4 c. melted butter
-3 T. sugar
Filling:
-8 oz cream cheese, softened
-1 c. sugar
-8 oz Cool Whip, thawed
Topping:
-2 packages of 3 oz strawberry Jell-O
-2 c. boiling water
-2 packages 10 oz frozen strawberries, thawed and sliced

Preparation Instructions:
1. Crust: Mix crushed pretzels with butter and sugar. Spread in a 9x13 pan (Linds, 9x9 would probably work fine, it'll just be a bit thicker). Bake for 10 min. at 350 degrees. Let cool completely and refrigerate for 1 hr.
2. Filling: Mix cream cheese, sugar, and Cool Whip with hand mixer. Spread evenly on pretzel crust-- all the way to the edges. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
3. Pour Jell-O into boiling water. Stir 'til dissolved, let cool just a little. Combine strawberries and Jell-O, then pour over cream cheese mix and crust. Refrigerate for a few hours or until Jell-O sets.

ENJOY!

Pumpkin Roll!!!

Okay ladies, no more slacking. Time to get this blog up and running again. Let's share our food! I'll kick it off with a yummy pumpkin roll, that will add a flattering roll to your middle if you eat too much :). (See pictures of me for proof). I got this recipe from verybestbaking.com, it's the Libby's Pumpkin Roll official recipe and it's so yummy. I used to be really intimidated by pumpkin rolls (because of how they looked) before I had ever tried making one. But they are actually very easy, and fast too.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup (Libby's) 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
6 Tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
more Powdered sugar for towel and decoration

Directions:
For Cake: Preheat oven to 375. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar.

Combine flour, baking powder, bakign soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl unitl thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts if desired.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (If using a dark-colored pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 min.) Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

For filling:
Beat cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

Cooking tip: Be sure to grease the pan and wax paper well. Also, be sure to put enough powdered sugar on the towel when rolling up hte cake so it will not stick. That is the trick to this whole thing, not letting it stick anywhere, and not over-cooking it.
Also, it's easier to cut this with floss to serve, just as you would cut cinnamon rolls out to bake them.