4th of July Jello and Cookie Treats

Happy Almost Independence Day! Here are some 4th of July worthy treats:

Recipe and Instructions: 4th of July Jello

Recipe and Instructions: Spreads Cookies

Happy Birthday America!
-mary

4th of July Patriotic Broken Glass Jello

4th of July Patriotic Broken Glass Jello

One of the top posts on the Food Librarian is Broken Glass Jello. I've made Valentine's Day, Laker's, and Christmas Jell-O in the past. Today, it's something perfect for the 4th of July. Can you believe it's almost July?!??!

My twitter feed is blowing up with hot tweets - "It's so hot!" "I'm melting" and "I can't turn on my oven." This is the perfect recipe for you! No oven...just some time chilling in the refrig!

Only a few ingredients are needed to make this crowd pleasing treat. Kids LOVE it. If you want to make a pie, check out JustJenn's pie!

This recipe is sooooooo easy...but be sure to plan for it. You'll need time to chill the colored Jello and then the whole thing - it's a two-day project. First, make blue and red Jello blocks. Second, make a milk mixture with unflavored gelatin and sweetened condensed milk, and combine with the blocks.

The milk mixture combines unflavored gelatin and sweetened condensed milk (don't get evaporated milk).



Happy Summer to you and yours!

Recipe:

6 ounces (one big 6-oz box or two small 3-oz boxes) of "Red" Jell-O such as strawberry, cherry, raspberry, strawberry banana

6 ounces (one big 6-oz box or two small 3-oz boxes) of "Blue" Jell-O

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk (don't get evaporated milk)

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin (that Knox stuff) (each envelope is approximately 1/4 ounce)

4 cups boiling water (for colored blocks)

1/2 cup cold water (for milk mixture)
2 cups boiling water (for milk mixture)

Step One: Making the Blocks

In separate bowls, dissolve the Red and Blue Jell-O in boiling water by adding 1 cup of boiling water to 3 ounces of Jell-O. Therefore, you'll need a total of 2 cups of boiling water for the 6 ounces of Jell-O (one big box or two small boxes). Mix to dissolve and pour into a container and chill until firm (overnight is probably best, but I have chilled it 3-4 hours until firm).

Note: Only add 1 cup of water per 3 ounces of Jell-O. Ignore the instructions on the box of Jello (they say to use 2 cups of water per 3 ounces). You need to use less water so the Jell-O is firm and can be cut into blocks.

Step Two: Cutting Blocks and Making the Milk Mixture

Prep a 9 x 13 pan by wiping a very, very thin layer of flavorless oil (such as canola) in the pan with a paper towel. You'll wipe off 99.9% of the oil...leaving just a very, very thin film.

Cut chilled colored Jell-O into small blocks.

Carefully mix the blocks in a 9 x 13 pan.

In a separate bowl, add 1/2 cup cold water. Sprinkle 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin on top of the cold water. Wait a few minutes for the gelatin to bloom (soak up some of the water), then add 1 1/2 cup boiling water and mix to dissolve. Add the can of condensed milk. Stir and cool. Pour cooled milk mixture over Jell-O. If you wish, skim off any bubbles from the surface of the Jell-O. Chill overnight until set.

Mochi Mochi Mochi - Mochitsuki 2011

It's that time again! My family and friends got together on December 26th for our annual mochi making day!

These unsweetened rice cakes are eaten on New Year's Day in a special soup called ozoni to bring about good fortune and health and all that jazz. Our family has been getting together since 1955 to make mochi. We have two electric machines and a bunch of gas steamers to cook the special Koda Farms Sho-Chiku-Bai sweet rice (old school method is with a pound it by hand with a mallet.)

I think this year was a record - 190 pounds of rice! That took about three hours alone just to wash and soak on Christmas day (thanks Mom for doing that!)

Rice is steamed in steamers then poured into the machine. It comes out piping hot! Little bits are cut off and shaped into rounds. They are cooled on racks and then dusted with mochiko (rice flour).

All hands on deck for mochi making! Often, this is the one time a year we see some of our aunts, uncles, cousins and their growing children so it is a very important tradition for my family. And, of course, we have a bouncy house...just like our ancestors had I'm sure...

Um, we had two food tables and one salad table...making mochi definitely stirs the appetite!

Yum! Yum! Yum!

And this year lots of my friends dropped by!

We can't forget the desserts too! My auntie made this delicious cookie tray, JustJenn brought delicious and cute cupcakes and my cousin made these fried cookies.

Days later, my cousin and I are still cleaning the house and putting back things (we need to clear out three rooms of the house for mochi day). Of course, the benefit is that I'm eating fresh toasted mochi every day!

Looking forward to joining JustJenn's family for her annual New Year's feast...featuring our mochi for the ozoni soup! :)

Happy New Year everyone! 2012 is going to ROCK! - mary the food librarian

Other mochi-related posts: 2010, 2008, 2007 family event, sweet mochi with red beans, zunda mochi from sendai, blueberry mochi cake.

Holiday Treats from the Food Librarian

Here are a few holiday treats you might want to make for your friends and family this holiday season. I can't believe the holidays are here already!

Please click on the link to go to the original post and recipe :)

Broken Glass Jello

Always a huge hit and so easy to make. Give yourself at least a day in advance to let the Jello set up...but your hands-on labor is only about 15 minutes!

Cafe Beaujolais' Buttermilk-Cinnamon Coffeecake

This is a great coffee cake to have on hand for visitors or overnight guests during the holiday. It feeds a lot of people and is simple to make...you may have all the ingredients handy. Last year, my uncle ate three pieces during our mochi making!

Baked Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins

Pumpkin pie is great and all...but these little donut-y muffins are divine. Have the kids help you roll them in cinnamon sugar...Santa will want to grab a few of these.

Noodle Kugel

My friend's mom makes this delicious noodle kugel for Hanukkah! (Note to Mrs. S - I miss you and hope to see you soon!!!)

Chocolate Rice Krispies with Bittersweet Chocolate Drizzle

Dressed up rice krispies. Yum! You can make these while the kids are running around. Hey, make they work a bit by stirring together this easy treat.

Happy Holidays! - mary

St. Patrick's Day Jello Cream Cake

St. Patrick's Day Jello Cream Cake

Happy almost St. Patrick's Day!

You know I have a major thing for Jello and my co-workers love it too. So, I pulled out a card from my mom's cookbook and made this Jello cream cake. My auntie used to make this every holiday season as well (it is great with a topping of Cherry Jello!)

The crust is butter, brown sugar, flour and nuts. Easy peasy to make! Bake it off and let it cool before adding the next layers.

The ingredients are simple. Jello, cream cheese, heavy whipping cream and a little more sugar. The middle layer is cream cheese and sugar with whipped cream folded in. The lemon Jello is dissolved and gives the layer stability because of the gelatin.

A big tray of this gelatin treat is always a big hit at potlucks or...the library! :)

If you don't want to make this one for St. Patty's day, try the Ice Cream Jello I made two years ago!

Jello Cream Cake

Printable Recipe here

Crust:
1 1/2 sticks - butter, softened
1/2 c brown sugar
1 1/2 c flour
1 c chopped walnuts or pecans

Cream Layer:
1 - 3 oz package of lemon Jello (small box)
1 c boiling water
1/2 c sugar
8 oz package of cream cheese (one block), softened
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Jello Layer:
1 - 6 oz package lime Jello (large box)
2 c boiling water
1 c cold water

1. Make the crust. Cream together butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add flour and nuts to the mix. Press dough into buttered 9 x 13 inch pan. I use the Pyrex pan. Bake crust for 10-15 minutes in pre-heated 375 degrees oven or until crust is brown. Let cool.
2. Make cream layer. Dissolve lemon Jello with 1 cup boiling water. Let this mixture cool. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and cream cheese. In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks (but don't make butter). Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Don't worry about it blending perfectly. Add the cooled lemon Jello and hand whisk together. Pour cream mixture over cooled crust and chill until firm in the refrigerator.
3. Make the Jello layer. In a large bowl, dissolve lime Jello with 2 cups boiling water. Add 1 cup cold water. Let this mixture cool. Pour on top of cheese mixture and return to refrigerator to cool completely.
4. Cut and enjoy!
5. Notes: You can, of course, change the color to suit your mood or holiday. This makes a bunch and can get pretty tall! When you add the cream layer, make sure you leave space for the top Jello layer. I usually place the 9 x 13 pan on a half-sheet pan in case I have spillage when placing the top layer on the cake!

Valentine's Day Broken Glass Jello

Happy almost Valentine's Day!

Last year, I posted 5-layer Valentine's Jello and it was very popular. But what happens if you want an even easier gelatin treat (or you don't have a level refrig?) Make this very easy version of Broken Glass Jello. You don't even turn on your oven!

You only need a few ingredients from the store: Jello, sweetened condensed milk, and Knox unflavored gelatin. You also need time. I usually make this over a two day period - Make the blocks one night, and finish it the next morning or day.

Normally, I use four different Jello colors (each one a small 3 oz. box of gelatin).
For this Valentine's day jello, I used:
1 - 6 oz (big box) of Cherry Jell-O
1 - 6 oz (big box) of Peach Jell-O

If you are going for the Valentine's colors, you can use Strawberry, Watermelon (this comes out pink), or Raspberry.

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk (don't get evaporated milk)

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin (that Knox stuff)

Directions: For a 4 color dessert, dissolve each 3 oz box of jello in one cup of boiling water. For this 2-color dessert, dissolve each 6 oz box of Jello in TWO cups boiling water. Pour into a container and chill (overnight is best; chill for at least 4 hours until firm). After chilling the flavors, cut each flavor into small blocks.

Carefully mix the blocks in a 9 x 13 pan.

In a separate bowl, sprinkle 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin into 1/2 cup cold water. After the gelatin blooms (just a few minutes), add 1 1/2 cup boiling water and dissolve. Add the can of condensed milk. Stir and cool. Pour cooled milk mixture over jello. Skim off the bubbles for a nicer finish. Chill overnight. Cut into blocks. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve! Enjoy!

Valentine's Day is also my friend Pam's birthday! Happy Birthday Pam!!!

Other recipes of interest:

Broken Glass Jello (4 colors) with step-by-step photos

5 Layer Valentine Jello

Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes - Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Club

For this month's Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Club, Kim from What the Whisk chose Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes on page 236 of Martha's fantastic book: Martha Stewart's Cupcake Book

Martha Stewart Cupcakes Club is a new club where members make one cupcake recipe per month.

I scored some canned pumpkin (you know you are in a baking community when your twitter feed is full of the Pumpkin Panic of 2009!) and made 1/2 the recipe.

I made my own version of cream cheese frosting: 1 block (8 oz) cream cheese and 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar.

I thought the cupcake was not dense like a pumpkin bread and pretty light on the pumpkin flavor. However, I only had a bite and it was right out of the oven...so the flavors might not have settled down yet.

Martha, oh Martha. I'm so not in your world. She (well, her staff) leave us instructions to make our own marzipan pumpkins to place on top. Um, yeah...I'm just not a marzipan decorating kinda gal. I love me marzipan, but I'm not crafty enough to shape my own mini-pumpkins (and I just don't have the time). I'm just saying that the great Pumpkin shortage includes handcrafted marzipan pumpkins. I sprinkled some orange jimmies on top and saved myself about 10 hours of work. Whew!

By the way, come back to visit on Saturday. I'm starting a crazy, I-hope-I-can-do-this baking project. For those who know me...it will involve my beloved Bundt pan. - mary

Recipe:
Martha Stewart's Cupcake Book: Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes, page 236

The Martha Stewart Cupcakes Club doesn't post the recipe. You can use WorldCat to see if your library has it in their collection.

Be sure to check out the other Martha Stewart Cupcakes Club members and their version of the recipe! I'm sure some bakers were marzipan artists!

Apple Raisin Noodle Kugel

Happy Jewish New Year - Rosh Hashanah!

My friend Jami's mom makes the best noodle kugel. I've made it twice for Hanukkah in 2008 and 2007.

This year, I decided to mix it up a bit and added one small diced apple and 1/2 cup golden raisins. And luckily, I haven't packed up my 9 x 13 pan and old school electric mixer yet.

The kugel is divine. I can eat it hot, cold, at the table, standing in the refrig in the middle of the night...except this year I can't have dairy so I'm bummed. However, the staff at the library enjoyed it. (And believe me, this is a dairy consortium! Butter, sour cream, cream cheese and cottage cheese!)

There are Parve (non-dairy) kugels that can accompany meat dishes, and I'll definitely try that next year.

Apple Raisin Noodle Kugel
From my friend's Jami's mom, Mrs. S in San Diego!

8 oz. medium egg noodles
6 eggs
1 lb. (16 oz.) carton cottage cheese, small curd
3 oz. small cream cheese [FYI: A regular brick is 8 oz.]
1/2 pint = 1 cup = 8 oz. container sour cream
1/4 lb. = 1 stick butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Handful of cornflake crumbs to thicken the noodle-egg mixture a bit

Optional:
1 diced apple (I used a Granny Smith)
1/2 cup golden or regular raisins (I used golden)

Cook and drain noodles. Beat eggs well, add rest of the ingredients and beat well. By hand, mix in the drained noodles and optional diced apples and raisins. The mixture will be watery. Don't be tempted to add more noodles. They will totally expand while baking.

Topping
Mix together:
1 cup corn flake crumbs
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Grease a 9 x 13 pan well and add mixture. Sprinkle topping on. Bake 1 to 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees, uncovered. (Last night, I baked it for 1 1/2 hours, but I think an hour 15 would have been okay too.)

To those celebrating the Jewish New Year, best wishes to you and your family for a wonderful and peaceful year.

And to those who just love noodles, sweetness and lots of dairy, make this yummy kugel!

Maple Cake and Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day!!

I've never been to Canada and am dying to visit...hopefully someday soon!

The closest I've been is La Cañada Flintridge. Ha ha ha. Let me explain: La Cañada Flintridge is a city in Los Angeles County that has a Spanish tilde over the ñ. Cañada means gorge, ravine in Spanish. I spoke to a resident once and she spelled out her address: "It's LA CANADA but with the swiggle over the N."

Canada Day inspired me to make this Maple Cake!

The batter is simple and basic. Uses 3/4 c of maple syrup.

Made with a full cup of Maple Syrup from Canada! The glaze is a combo of more maple syrup, melted butter and powdered sugar.

And, to complete the Canada Day theme, I'm going to see "The Proposal" with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds tonight. She plays a CANADIAN! Oh dear, I'm so themed today I feel like I'm the living version of a Canadian Tablescape by Sandra Lee. (Those tablescapes scare me!)

Maple Cake
I found this recipe in the Everyday Food Holiday 2007 Special Edition.

1. Whisk together in a separate bowl: 2 1/2 cups flour, 2 t baking powder, 1/2 t baking soda, 1/2 t salt
2. Beat together until light and fluffy: 2 sticks butter (room temp), 3/4 cup maple syrup, 1/2 cup sugar
3. Add 2 large eggs, one at a time
4. Mix in 1 t vanilla extract
5. On low speed, alternate the flour mixture and 3/4 cup sour cream. Don't overmix. Start and end with the flour.
6. Pour into a buttered and floured 9-inch square pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in the pan, remove and cool completely on a rack.
7. Glaze with the Maple Glaze: 1/4 cup maple syrup, 2 T butter (melted), 1 - 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Happy Canada Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day Ice Cream Jello

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Ice Cream Jello

Mix together to dissolve:
2 large packages (6 oz each) of green Jello (or any flavor)
1 packet of unflavored gelatin
4 cups boiling water

Add:
1 quart vanilla ice cream (I would use less ice cream next time)
Stir til dissolved

Pour:
9 x 13 glass dish

Refrigerate overnight, cut and serve! The ice cream will float to the top of the jello.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!