Pilgrim Hats

First step. Place the cookies face down on a cookie sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.

Step 2 - empty the chocolate chips into a glass bowl. Melt them in the microwave.

Step 3 - Stir the chips until smooth.

Step 4 - Poke a marshmallow with a toothpick and dip it into the chocolate to cover. This is Sophie working hard. (true confession - spell check just corrected me on spelling marshmellow. See, it's doing it again - I thought it was an "e"!! But, I digress . . . .)

Calvin could not stop licking his finger and his toothpick.

Natalie could not keep her tongue in her mouth.

Step 5 - When they have all been dipped and placed on the cookies (use another toothpick to help push them off), pop them in the freezer to cool. Or, if you live in Minnesota, pop them out on the deck for a few minutes!
While they cool, let the kids lick the bowl. Mmmmmm, yummy.

Oh dear, messy. Luckily, this was Natalie, so I just rolled up her sleeves and pretended it never happened. Hee, hee. Sorry, Susan.

Step 6 - draw on a buckle with your yellow icing in the tube. Note to self - next time buy the tips that fit onto the tube of yellow icing!


Then if you are an overachiever, make a darling little pilgrim tag and wrap each hat individually for friends. We made exactly one of these. Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey Cupcakes

1	box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® devil's food cake mix
	Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box
2	containers (1 lb each) Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy milk chocolate frosting
1	tube (4.25 oz) Betty Crocker® white decorating icing
1	tube (0.68 oz) Betty Crocker® brown decorating gel
	Candy corn
	Chocolate candy sprinkles

1.	Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Make and cool cake as directed on box for 24 cupcakes.
2.	Frost cupcakes with frosting. Place remaining frosting in corner of resealable freezer plastic bag. Snip off small corner of bag.
3.	To decorate each cupcake, pipe 1-inch mound of frosting on 1 side of cupcake to look like head of turkey. Make eyes with white decorating icing and brown decorating gel; add candy corn for beak. To make feathers, pipe frosting on opposite side to hold candy corn; place candy corn upright on frosting to look like feathers. Sprinkle chocolate candy sprinkles near head and at base of feathers. If desired, add candy corn at base of cupcake for feet. Store loosely covered.

Fruit Gobbler

Whet your family's appetite for the real bird with a fruity tribute, submitted by Michelle Pestillo of Southington, Connecticut. It's easy to assemble -- and delicious to take apart!

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
	Bosc pear (head)
	Melon (body)
	Cheese (beak and tail feathers)
	Red pepper (snood, feet and side feathers)
	Raisins (eyes)
	Grapes (tail feathers)
	Bamboo skewers
	Toothpicks

1. Stabilize the melon body by cutting a shallow slice off the rind to form a flat base. Using a section of bamboo skewer, attach a Bosc pear head to the melon, as shown.

2. Cut a cheese triangle beak and red pepper snood. Attach both, along with raisin eyes, to the head with sections of toothpick.

3. Cut red pepper feet and set them in place. For tail feathers, skewer cheese cubes and red grapes, then insert the skewers as shown. Pin pepper side feathers in place with toothpicks.

Santa Cookies

I made these last year for Christmas, and they were cute and yummy. They were a little time consuming- more like a craft project- but are very simple otherwise.

Buy a package of Nutter Butter cookies. Melt some white chocolate over low heat in a small saucepan, stirring until smooth. Dip each end into white chocolate- for a beard and a hat. Sprinkle 'hat' with red confectioners sugar and add a white chocolate chip for the hat. Using a toothpick and a dab of warm white chocolate, attach a red hot for the nose, and two mini chocolate chips for eyes.

Decorative Gingerbread Cookies

Ginger Bread Cookies (Scovil Bakery-- Nauvoo, Illinois)
1 cup sugar
1 cup Sorghum or Molasses
3/4 cup oil or lard
1/2 cup hot water

Combine
(It says to rinse the malasses from the cup with hot water, but I just put oil in first and it didn't stick.)

Add: 2 eggs

Mix together the following:
1 tsp soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ginger
6 or 7 cups of white flour

Refrigerate dough overnight. Roll out and cut with cookie cutters.
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

To roll out the dough, we use Pam in place of flour.

Cookies freeze well and are softer and more flavorful after freezing.