Valentine's Day Pinwheels

I love Valentine's Day! I'm not a very romantic person. But something about all of the pink and hearts, I just adore. Since having children, my husband and I have more fun making Valentine's Day a family event then trying to plan a date. I love making heart shaped pancakes for breakfast and then having a heart shaped pizza for dinner and of course heart shaped sugar cookies for dessert. For the next week, I thought it would be fun to start the festivities by trying new treats, crafts and other "pink" themed activities.

Today, I decided to make Valentine's Day Jello Pinwheels. I was inspired when I saw the Watermelon Jolly Rancher flavored Jello at the store. Yum! That's the best flavor of Jolly Rancher! 

 

Valentine's Day Jello Pinwheels

 

Ingredients 

1 (3 oz.)  pkg. jello

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows 

12 inches of thread, fishing line, or unflavored dental floss

Directions

Lightly spray an 8 or 9 inch square pan with non-stick cooking spray. Make sure it is evenly coated.

Stir together water and jello powder in glass bowl and then microwave for 1 minute. Remove bowl and stir well making sure jello is disolved. If necessay, return to microwave for 20 seconds or so to make sure jello is dissolved and stir again.

Add marshmallows.

Return to microwave for 20-40 seconds or until marshmallows have begun to puff. This is the key to a successful marshmallow layer. If you over cook the marshmallows, they just dissolve and your pinwheel will not have two distinct layers.

Whisk quickly until marshmallows are dissolved. Pour quickly into prepared pan and chill in fridge for  45 minutes or until well set. I let mine set for 90 minutes. The creamy layer will float to the top.
Remove the pan from the fridge. At this point, the jello should be very firm and easy to handle.

Gently pull one side away from pan and lift entire sheet onto counter. I turned my pan upside down on a cutting board and let it fall out.

Flip the jello over so that the marshmallow side is up.

Starting at one end, roll up tightly. With seam side down.

With seam side down, cut into 10-12 (1/2) inch slices. I found it easiest to cut with a piece of fishing line, thread, or dental floss. Just put the string around the pinwheel, cross and pull.

Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.


I got this recipe from the Kraft website. http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/easy-marshmallow-pinwheels-51697.aspx   They have a ton more great recipes to try!

Check back in tomorrow to find out what the next Valentine's Day activity will be!