Rolly Pollies

My cookie recipe got featured on Instructables, and they gave me a one year pro-membership for free! yay!

Rolly Pollies are the best cookies you will ever taste this side of heaven.  These are addictive cookies that melt in your mouth.  They are soft and chewy with a molasses taste that has a perfectly synergistic caramel and chocolate Rolo candy melted in the middle.  This recipe will yield 25 cookies.

Step 1 Ingredients

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Ingredients

3/4 cup shortening (solid shortening in a can works best, not the stick kind)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
Rolo candy, about 25 pieces

Topping
Mix the following in a small bowl:

3 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

After baking, sprinkle with:
Sanding sugar

Step 2 Mix the Dough

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Cream the shortening and sugar.  Beat in the egg and molasses.  Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Mix until combined.  Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls.

Step 3 Insert Rolo Candy

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Press thumb into dough ball to make an impression, then insert one Rolo candy into the indentation you just created.  Push the dough up and over the candy to cover it completely.  Smooth out the dough ball, then press the top of the dough ball into topping mixture. 

Step 4 Bake

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Place the dough ball, with sugar side up, on a greased baking sheet.  Bake in an oven pre-heated to 350 degrees for 12 minutes.  If you are using a warm cookie tray, the cookie baking time will be shortened to about 10 minutes.  The cookies should be lightly baked with slight cracking.  Sprinkle with sanding sugar.

Step 5 Enjoy

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Take out of the oven and share with those you love. 

 

Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, Black Forest Cake

 

For our last German class of this year, our instructor mentioned he wanted to buy a Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte.  He told us how much the cake was going to cost, and that he would have to drive about an hour to pick it up.  We also decided as a class, that we needed a non-alcoholic version of the cake, because our class meets at a local high school. I'm not much of a cake baker, but I volunteered to make one anyway.  My husband found a recipe online, and I made a test cake just to make sure I could make one.  I accidentally made extra batter for the test cake, but it turned out perfectly.  A week later, I made the cake for class and followed the recipe exactly.  One of my layers was so thin that it fell apart, and I had to remake it.  This recipe is my accident version, with extra batter and frosting, so your layers will not be too thin.  An awesome cake, that tastes great too!

Cake:
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups water
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Cake Directions:  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in water until blended.  In a microwave melt chocolate, stir until smooth, then stir in vanilla until blended. Combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda and add to creamed mixture alternately with chocolate mixture beating well after each addition. Pour into four greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

Chocolate Filling:
5 ounces German sweet chocolate
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Chocolate Filling Directions:  Melt chocolate in a microwave and stir until smooth.  Stir in softened butter until smooth, then add almonds.

Cream Filling:
4 cups heavy whipping cream
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla

Cream Filling Directions: Beat cream until it begins to thicken.  Add Sugar and vanilla, beat until soft peaks form.

Topping:
1 can cherry pie filling
3 cups sliced almonds

To assemble cake: place one cake on a serving platter, spread with a fourth of the chocolate filling and a fourth of the cream filling.  Repeat layers.  Top with remaining cake and chocolate filling.  Place 2 cups of the remaining cream filling in a pastry bag with a large star tip.  Pipe around top edge of cake.  Fill center with cherry pie filling.  Spread remaining cream filling over sides of cake; press almonds into sides.

Note: Allow to chill for several hours or overnight to allow the cream to set.  Otherwise, the layers will slip a bit as you are trying to cut it.

Coated Pecans

My husband brought this recipe home from a co-worker at Nationwide Insurance about 18 years ago.  The Coated Pecans were so yummy, I used to make several batches every Christmas to give to family and friends.  I haven't made them for awhile, but this morning while I was talking on the phone to my sister, she reminded me how much she liked them and will miss having them again this year.  Hmmm...I think a surprise food gift will be on it's way to her house soon!

Coated Pecans

2-3 cups pecans (depending on how heavy you like the coating)
1 cup sugar
5 Tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1 /2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Roast pecans for 12 minutes in a 300 degree oven.

In a large saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients.  Cook on high heat for 2-3 minutes or until 'soft ball' candy stage, approximately 250 degrees F.

Remove from heat, add pecans and stir to coat.

Pour onto waxed paper and separate with a fork.