Dessert, Devotions and a Pumpkin Roll tutorial

Pumpkin Roll

One of my friends, we will call her Nicole (because that is her name), makes up our Mommy Play Date calendar. She wanted to do something just for us Moms. Something that would encourage our hearts and lift our spirits. She came up with a fabulous idea.

We could have some moms over to one of our houses and have an experienced, wiser mom in the church, who has already raised her children, come and give a small devotional about being a mom. She would share some of her wisdoms and maybe answer a few questions.  I could certainly use some help. Nicole wanted to do a lunch and bring the kids. As much as I love my boys, having our children there might be a bit distracting. I know everyone else has angel children that never interrupt when you talk, have impeccable table manners and would never embarrass you in public. Mine, well, they're boys and even though we are working on the "don't interrupt when mommy is talking to someone", it is still a work in progress. So maybe a Mom's night in and leave our angel children home for some Daddy time. 

We are blessed to have a wonderful church with many "seasoned Moms" that we could ask to come and share some wisdom with us. We both had a few ladies in mind.  We asked around and found a few ladies willing to come share.We chose a lady for the first night and prayed some Mom's would be able to come. 

It's no secret I love desserts, so I had to incorporate that into the night somehow. Thus, a night in of "Dessert and Devotions" was born.

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Now, what to make?

This same friend has been leaving not-so-subtle hints that she wanted me to make a pumpkin roll, so in honor of her and her fabulous idea, I decided to make one.

Let's chat about it for a minute.

Here is what you will need:

Cake:

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs
2/3 cup mashed (canned) pumpkin
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 15 x 10" jelly roll pan. I'm going to stop right here and say, jelly roll pan? Seriously what is the difference between a jelly roll pan and a cookie sheet? After researching a little and please excuse my ignorance, but I have not been classically trained. I'm a learn as you go type a gal. These pans are basically the same, however a jelly roll pan has higher sides. That way, whatever you bake in it does not spill over. I looked through my pans and hurrah! Found one that fit the bill.

I have had this pan for some time, so disregard that it is not the prettiest of pans. Notice that the sides are higher than the average cookie sheet. Line the greased sheet with parchment paper, making sure some hangs over the sides, and grease again. Grease up the sides as well. No sticking is allowed.

Let's get to mixing.

I put all the dry ingredients in first, then added the pumpkin. Started mixing at this point and added the eggs one at a time. Mix until combined.

Pour the batter into your designated pan of choice.

Smooth out so that all sides are evenly distributed. Bake for 15 minutes, that's how long mine took.

Now the tricky part. Find a dish towel that does not have any texture. I found my Valentine towels work, so look through your holiday towels, you might find one too.

Sprinkle the towel with powdered sugar and carefully flip the roll over onto the towel. I asked my husband for assistance on this, but after thinking about it, I could have flipped it onto another surface and then slid it onto the towel. You could try that and let me know or just let me know what works best for you. I always attempt stress-free baking, but there is always one step that worries me. I didn't want to break it, but I flipped it with not cracks. Whew! Crisis averted.

While it is warm, gently roll up in the towel to cool.

Here is what my roll of love looked like.

While the roll is cooling, let's work on the filling. Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix away until light and fluffy. This is what light and fluffy looks like to me.

Spread evenly on the roll with an uneven spatula or whatever you have on hand. If you are feeling nutty, you could sprinkle some nuts on at this point. I know that Nicole prefers not to feel nutty, so I left them off.

Carefully roll up. This was messy for me because I didn't like the first roll up so I tried to unroll and do over. Needless to say, I just got the filling all over my hands. I may or may not have licked it right off my fingers. If I did do something as ungraceful as that, I would wash my hands afterward, so don't worry, no germs would have been transferred. My point is, just roll it up as best you can, don't worry if it looks messy like mine. After it is refrigerated it looks much better. Speaking of which, after you roll it up, place in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

See, much prettier. I just sliced a piece off the front, I had to taste test it, then sliced it into pretty pieces to be enjoyed by all.

I was not the only one to make deliciousness for this night. There was Jessica's Apple Dump Cake, Heather's Sweet Potato Bread, Laurinda's Gooey Chocolate Cake.......

Jennifer's Pumpkin Pie and Nicole's Peanut Butter cookies.

I am sure any of them would share their recipe if you would like it. 

We also enjoyed some apple cider, hot chocolate, coffee (complete with flavored creamers) lemonade and sweet tea. We all left fat and sassy, with a plate full of goodies for our husbands.

I would have liked to take more pictures of my friends and the fun we were having, but I was too busy stuffing my face with goodness and listening to the devotions.

We picked the perfect "seasoned Mom" for our first night in. She was a great blessing and encouragement. She reminded us that in order to raise Godly children  we need to continually read the directions, God's Holy Word. Afterward, we bombarded her with questions about raising our children, which she handled with wisdom and grace.

We also shared our funniest moments with our children and our daily lives as Moms. It was very encouraging to know everyone else shares in the same trials I have, and also hearing some different perspectives on  how to handle situations that arise. All and all, it was a fabulous night in!

Thank you to everyone who shared this night with me, and to everyone who read this post! I love you all!

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Baking from my heart to your kitchen,