Serving This Week 12-14 To 12-18-2020
Come and see what I will be cooking up on Marilyns Treats this week!
This is what I featured on my blog 12-12 to 12-18-2020. On Tuesday was Death by Chocolate and Peanut Butter Trifle. Wednesday was How to Bake a Ham in a Convection Oven With 4 Bonus Glazes. Thursday was York Mint Red Velvet Wreaths. And Friday was a Red Velvet Oreo Trifle. Enjoy!
If you missed what I served up last week please click Serving This Week 12-7-to 12-11-2020.
DEATH BY PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE TRIFLE
Want an easy peasy dessert that will WOW your guests and decorate your table at the same time?
It is called Death by Peanut Butter and Chocolate!
Beware though as it comes with a DIABETIC WARNING!!
I had been perusing Pinterest to make something special Christmas Eve for after we decorated the tree.
I saw a bunch of trifles and decided I needed to try something similar.
After all. I had just gotten 2 Trifle Bowls for my birthday. One small, and one large. They were so pretty and I wanted to fill them.
Into my pantry I went. I saw a box of brownie bites, a bag of Reese’s minis, chocolate pudding, vanilla pudding, caramel pudding, some milk in the refrigerator and cool whip in the freezer.
Now for a plan. I wanted to layer the brownie and top with one pudding flavor and a top of Reese’s. The problem was I couldn’t find a peanut butter pudding. So I made my own with caramel pudding and peanut butter. I then made the pudding layers into a mousse.
I ended up taking this to my sister’s house for Christmas eve.
The trifle was surprisingly very light and not overly sweet, and folks came back for seconds and thirds.
I even had enough left over when preparing the dish to fill the smaller trifle bowl. I took it over to my friend across the street. She is always sharing her baking with us so now I had something original to leave her!
This trifle is an original. Filled with chocolate, vanilla and homemade peanut butter pudding, it lives up to its name.
You can’t deny the Peanut Butter and Chocolate flavors. The textures of the brownie, mousses, and candy were phenomenal.
It is guaranteed to satisfy the Peanut Butter and Chocolate lover in your crowd. There is always at least one!
You can use a ready made whipped cream like Cool Whip, or make your own. Either way it adds a fluffiness to this dessert, it also creates a fluffy mousse for the pudding.
One recipe will feed an army, but it stays very nice in the refrigerator for up to 5-6 days. But if your home is like mine that isn’t going to happen.
In my home you can never have too much peanut butter. We just add it to our chocolate!
Enjoy this special dessert anytime of the year!
HOW TO BAKE A HAM IN A CONVECTION OVEN WITH 4 BONUS GLAZES
Cooking ham in a convection oven means adjusting both temperature and cook time slightly from conventional oven recipes.
Even though many hams sold in stores are fully cooked, it’s tradition in the United States to glaze and cook the ham before serving them.
Adding a ham glaze will make a butt portion even more succulent and delicious.
The best way to cook a smoked or unsmoked ham butt portion is in the convection oven at 325 Fahrenheit. Allow 35 to 40 minutes per pound to roast a bone in ham butt and makes sure the internal temperature reaches 145 F by the end of cooking. Leave the ham for three minutes before carving.
A ham is cured add salt, nitrites and nitrates, seasonings, phosphates and sometimes sugar to preserve your ham and enhance its color and flavor.
This is important to know when choosing your glaze. You need one that will dilute the salt and enhance what flavors you are choosing for the glaze.
No matter which ham you choose, cured or fresh, your ham when cooked will be delicious.
Hams may be smoked as well as cured, and they may be sold uncooked or cooked. It’s important to read the label carefully to see whether a ham needs cooking to make it safe.
Convection ovens work by circulating hot air through the oven cavity by a rear-mounted fan.
These convection ovens are preferred by many cooks because of the even heat distribution and absence of hot spots found in standard ovens.
Because of the efficiency of these ovens, temperatures can typically be reduced by 25 degrees and in some cases the time can be reduced, as well.
With roasts, such as ham, the cooking time will actually take a little longer. The reduced temperature is necessary to keep the meat moist, but because ham is a dense meat the cooking time is increased.
Pull the ham out of the convection oven when it reaches 155 degrees and allow it rest for 10 minutes. During the resting period, the meat will continue to cook after it has been removed from the oven and the internal temperature will increase another five to 10 degrees. This process helps keep the meat from being overcooked and drying out.
If you don’t have a rack for your roasting pan, you can use an oven safe cooling rack. Better yet, elevate the ham by lining the bottom of the pan with onions, carrots or potatoes. The vegetables will taste great as they cook in the ham drippings!
YORK MINT RED VELVET WREATHS
Christmas conjures up visions of red, green, mint, trees and wreaths to name just a few.
Like many people, for me it is the time of serious baking.
I get bored baking the same old thing every year, so I decided to use some left over dough from a different recipe and create something fresh and new for my cookie list.
Thus the York Mint Red Velvet Wreaths were born!
I always caution bakers to be careful how much red dye you use.
Just one drop at a time and well mixing the batter goes a long way.
If you use too much dye it changes the taste of your cookies and cakes.
These cookies are so red because I used a red velvet cookie mix.
I provided the alternate scratch method since I am not sure how readily available the red cookies mix is from year to year.
These are a simple red velvet cookie that is baked and cooled.
Then I used some left over York peppermint patties and pushed into the still soft dough until the cookie pushed up and hugged it securely.
I added a circle of white piping on top and then added the mini chocolate chips to finish it off.
You can also pipe red and green to create Christmas bulbs.
Simple silver candies can create bells or use edible glitter or sprinkles!
If I had more of the red cookie dough I would have been more creative.
I already had enough to bake without adding more! Maybe another year.
These cookies are so colorful they call attention to your Christmas Cookie presentation.
Whether it is for your own home parties, Christmas Cookie Exchange, donating to different groups, or handing out to neighbors and friends, these cookies are a must have in the tin.
Whatever you choose you will end up with a festive brightly colored moist cookie with a very holiday flavor. Enjoy!
RED VELVET OREO TRIFLE
This Red Velvet Oreo Trifle is perfect for Christmas.
One year I brought it to dinner at my sister’s home.and everyone raved about how yummy it looked.
It has been a keeper and requested every year since.
When it was time to dish it out my sister scooped very small portions on each plate.
That wasn’t enough!
Since the dessert was so light relatives came back for seconds and thirds.
I was totally surprised there wasn’t even a spoonful left for the latecomers to the dessert table.
For those dieting, use low fat cool whip. Tell everyone I removed all the calories.
This trifle makes a big WOW statement on your table. Even use it as a centerpiece after the main meal is served and you are ready for dessert.
Red Velvet Oreo Trifle can be whipped up in as much time as you can whip up a pudding mix.
Just bake yourself a red velvet cake mix, cheesecake pudding mix you find in the jello/pudding section of the store, prepared whip cream and some cookies.
You can use all premade ingredients for less hassle.
If you can’t find a red velvet cake mix use a white one and add red food coloring a drop at a time.
Remember to stir between drops so you don’t over compensate for the color.
If you can’t find the red and green color Oreos use whatever holiday flavors from the shelf at your local store.
No one will believe how easily this trifle is to put together.
Even your kiddos can help prepare the trifle.
Mixing up the cake, the cheesecake pudding filling and breaking up the cookies all use basic skills.
Remember to watch younger kids around the stove and other equipment.
This Red Velvet Oreo Trifle travels well.
You can take it as your contribution to a family gathering or dinner party. Even an office party will be brightened up when you bring this holiday creation.
Set it on the dessert table with some bowls and spoons.
Just remember to keep checking to make sure you haven’t run out of plates..
Go ahead and keep that a secret. It is time you become the Queen of desserts in your own kitchen!
Good golly, these trifles sounds so yum. PC would like both. The first because chocolate and pb! The second because OREOs. Think since it is just the 2 of us for the holidays, I think I will try halving the recipes so we don’t succumb to a death by trifle.
They half very easy. In fact the peanut butter one I got a large trifle and a small one. Enjoy!