Pecan Rolls

My family loves Pecan Rolls.  My kids have helped my father in law pick up pecans for the last 3 weeks.  I have no idea how many pounds of pecans they have to pick out, but I do know that I have all the pecans I could want to cook with.  I also know the boys are selling them if you need some. 

When I saw the post by Jessica Wilcox about Pecans and Christmas, I knew I had to make these rolls, but I am lazy when it comes to bread dough.  I went through my cookbooks to find a bread machine recipe for the dough.  Her family's filling and topping looked too good not to try, so here is 2 recipes put together to make some absolutely amazing Pecan Rolls that my 7 year old could do  pretty much did all by himself.

So Easy A Kid can Make them Pecan Rolls

1 cup warm milk (105-115 degrees)
2 eggs
1/3 cup butter, melted
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 packages (1/4 ounce) quick active dry yeast

Place above ingredients in bread machine in order recommended by the machine manufacturer (mine says liquids first and yeast last).  Select dough cycle.  Remove dough from pan, place on lightly floured surface, cover and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Pan Glaze:
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
1+cups pecan halves

Mix glaze ingredients and then spread in 9 by 13 inch baking pan.  Place pecan halves top side down into caramel topping.

Roll Filling:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/3 cup melted butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Roll dough into roughly a 20x16 inch rectangle.  Spread roll filling ingredients over dough.  Roll up dough starting with the long side.  Cut dough into 12 pieces.  Dental floss works amazingly well to cut dough and allows it to keep its nice round shape.  Place rolls on top of pan glaze.  Cover with a lint free towel and let rise 35 to 45 minutes.  The rolls should double in size.

Bake at 375* for 20-25 minutes.  Place a serving tray, cookie sheet or jelly roll pan on top of the baked rolls.  Carefully, flip the pan over and remove so that the bottom of the rolls is now the top and you can see those beautiful pecans. 

Enjoy with a cold glass of milk or Jent's mom's top secret hot chocolate.

-A Kansas Farm Mom

30 Minute Oatmeal Pecan Squares

Growing up, I thought my mom was one of the best cooks on earth, and I still do think that.  What I have found out over the years that she has lots of tried and true recipes that she loves.  Most of them come from little paperback church and 4-H cookbooks.  Most were published several years back when almost everyone actually cooked and only went out to eat for special occasions.

Growing up we called these cookies Mary Charlton Cookies, because that is who made them for the church dinners and who entered the recipe in the Presbyterian Church Cookbook back in the 1970's.  My mom still remembers helping to type the cookbook.  There was no fancy company to typeset everything and make it look pretty.  Nope just farm moms and hard working volunteers who took on the labor of love.

My mom loves this recipe.  She usually make a double batch in a 9x13 inch pan.  She tells everyone she can walk in the house make these bars, take a shower, change clothes and be ready to go to a potluck dinner in 30 minutes!  My mom is amazing.

We loved these cookies growing up and I hope you do, too.

Oatmeal Pecan Squares

1 stick butter

1 egg

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup flour

¼ t. baking powder

½ t. salt

¾ cup oatmeal

¼ cup shredded coconut

¾ cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 400*.  Place stick of butter in 7x11 inch baking dish and place in oven. 

Combine egg and sugar.  Add flour, baking powder, salt and oatmeal.  Pour in melted butter and mix well.  Add coconut and pecans and mix.

Pour batter back into baking dish you melted the butter in.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

-A Kansas Farm Mom

W4DW- Hello Dolly Bars

What's for Dinner Wednesday?  A recipe my kids can make all by themselves!  My boys love to help out in the kitchen.  They like it even better if I sit on the other side of the counter and stay out of the way!  These bar cookies have lots of names that I have heard over the years

• Magic Cookies
• 7 Layer Bars
• Hello Dolly Bars

We like to call them Hello Dolly Bars just because we made them for a 4-H demonstration and it made for a cute talk.  :)

Hello Dolly Bars

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch or peanut butter chips
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 can sweetened condensed milk

I like to make them in a 9x13 inch baking dish.  Most recipes call for 1 cup of graham crackers, but we prefer to make them with 2 cups mixed with 1/2 cup butter.  Press this mixture into the bottom of the baking dish.   Layer the other ingredients in order and pour sweetened condensed milk over the top.  DO NOT STIR.  Bake at 350*F for 25 minutes.  Cool and cut into bars. 

The next time the kids say we need cookies for school don't say "Oh No!"  instead say "Hello Dolly!!"

-A Kansas Farm Mom

W4DW- Pecan Pie Cheesecake

I looked to my Facebook followers for direction on what recipe to post on "What's for Dinner Wednesday."  

Have you ever noticed that the older our parents and in laws get the harder they are to buy Christmas presents that they will love?  I have resorted to making my dad and father in law cheesecakes for Christmas if I can’t find anything else that they will absolutely love.  I hate to buy a gift that is just going to be returned or worse yet just collect dust in their homes.  Last year, I made my dad a Coconut Cheesecake that was supposed to be like the one from The Cheesecake Factory.  He loved it!  So, this year when my Father in law stumped my shopping skills my oldest son and I went to work making this Pecan Pie Cheesecake.  It wasn’t as difficult or as time consuming as some we have made over the years (my family LOVES cheesecake.)

The original recipe called for Vanilla wafer crumbs, but I was forced to use graham crackers when all the boys of the house had eaten all the cookies.    I liked the graham cracker crust and thought it did need a little something to balance all the sweetness of the pie filling base.

Pecan Pie Cheesecake

Crust:

1 ¾  cups graham cracker crumbs
¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
⅓ cup butter, melted

Pecan Filling:

1 cup sugar
⅔ cup dark corn syrup
⅓ cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 ½ cups chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cheesecake Filling:

3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 ¼ cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 eggs
⅔ cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Crust:
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine cracker crumbs and brown sugar. Stir in melted butter. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9 1/2″ springform pan. Bake for 6 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Pecan Filling:
Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour into crust and set aside.

Cheesecake Filling:
Reduce oven to 325°. With a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add brown sugar and flour and beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Stir in cream and vanilla. Pour over pecan filling. Bake for 1 hour. Turn off oven and leave cheesecake in oven with the door closed for 1 hour. Remove from oven and run a knife along the outside edges to loosen cheesecake from sides of pan. Let cool. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

Many cheesecake recipes recommend that you wrap the bottom of the pan in aluminum foil and bake in a water bath.  This blogger recommended filling a Pyrex dish with very hot water on the bottom rack while the cheesecake baked on the top rack. This worked really well and we didn’t have a single crack on the top of the cake. 

-A Kansas Farm Mom

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Foodie Friends Friday
Melt In Your Mouth Monday