Oh Well, Not a Finalist

Remember a couple of months ago when I mentioned I had made it to the semi-finals to be a Pillsbury Crescent Ambassador (with a prize of $5000)?   Since I hadn't heard anything since, I assumed I hadn't made it to the finals.  Well, sure enough, I got the email yesterday saying they have chosen the four finalists and thanked me for participating.  As a thank you gift, they let me choose a free subscription to either Rachel Ray Magazine or Taste of Home Magazine.  Nice!!  I love cooking magazines and am always scouring them for new recipes.  I chose Rachel Ray.  That'll be a happy surprise in the mailbox each month.  :)

Here's one of the recipes I came up with.  It's a mix of the French dessert, Napoleon, and the Italian dessert Tiramisu.  I figured they'd make a good marriage (and since I'm of Italian heritage and my husband is of French, it makes perfect sense, right?).  We were limited to 10 ingredients and 30 minutes which was a bit difficult for me, but here's what I came up with:

Tiramisu Napoleons

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Unroll each Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations sheet and place on a lightly sprayed baking sheet.  Pat each into a 9 inch by 12 inch rectangle.  Lightly brush each crescent sheet with beaten egg, then sprinkle each sheet with about 1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar.
2. Bake the crescent sheets in the preheated oven for 10-14 minutes, or until golden brown.  Set aside to cool.
3. While crescent sheets are baking, prepare the fillings.  Mix together the dry vanilla pudding mix with 2 cups cold milk and the rum until very thick, about 3-5 minutes.  Set aside.
4. In a medium sized mixing bowl, beat together the softened cream cheese/mascarpone, the powdered sugar and  2 1/2 teaspoons instant cappucino powder.  
5. Cut each cooled crescent sheet in half lengthwise, then cut each half into 6 even pieces (each sheet should make twelve 2” x 4.5” rectangles for a total of 24 in all).
6. To assemble, place 8 crescent strips on a plate or serving tray sugar side up.  Top each with 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture. Top with another crescent strip, then one tablespoon of the rum pudding.  Top each with a third crescent strip, sugar side up.
7. Sprinkle the tops with the reserved tablespoon of instant cappuccino powder and serve.  Refrigerate any leftovers.