Learning With My Boys

My brother and his family came to visit us for Thanksgiving this year. We had fun playing inside and outsied!

Gingerbread Men

Making gingerbread houses is our family Thanksgiving tradition. This year we tried something new and decorated home made gingerbread men…

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• 3/4 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ginger
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• Icing
• Decorating Candies

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Once dough begins to form a ball in the center, dust generously with flour.
2. Cover dough with plastic wrap or wax paper and chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
3. Dust a smooth surface with flour, and roll out a section of the dough to about 1/4 inch thick.
4. Use a gingerbread man cookie cutter slice out your Gingerbread Men.
5. Bake at 350˚F/180˚C for 10-12 minutes.
6. Cool completely before decorating with icing and candies.

Hershey’s Freezer Pie

We love chocolate freezer pie for Thanksgiving dessert…

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. Hershey’s bar
• 8 oz. Cream Cheese
• 16 oz. Cool Whip
• 2 Prepared 8 inch Graham Crust
• 1/4 cup milk

Directions:

1. Heat the chocolate and 2 tablespoons of the milk in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until melted.
2. Beat the cream cheese and add the remaining milk. Add chocolate mix and beat until smooth.
3. In a bowl, fold the chocolate mix into the cool whip and blend until smooth.
4. Spoon the mix into the crusts. I decorated the pies with some extra cool whip and shaved chocolate bar for my son’s birthday.
5. Freeze for 4 hours.

Cinnamon Rolls

I made homemade cinnamon rolls for Thanksgiving day breakfast…

Ingredients:

Dough

• 1 cup warm milk
• 1 tablespoon instant dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons softened butter
• 1 large egg
• 3 cups all-purpose flour

Filling

• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Icing

• 4 ounces cream softened cheese
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine warm milk and yeast… let set for 5-10 minutes.
2. Add sugar, salt, butter, and eggs. Add in flour. Using a dough hook, turn the mixer on to a low speed.
3. Once the flour starts to mix into the dough, increase the speed to a medium range. Add more flour as necessary so that the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. It should be soft, but not stick to your hands.
4. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased mixing bowl. Cover with a towel and let rise until double in size, about 1 hour.
5. Lightly grease a baking pan. Punch down the dough and roll into a 12inch by 18inch rectangle.
6. In a small bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Spread on top of the dough. Roll up tightly lengthwise so you have one long roll. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 12 one-inch slices.
7. Place the slices onto a lightly 9×13 pan. Cover and let rise 30 to 45 minutes.
8. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake the rolls for about 20 minutes, until the tops have a touch of brown.
9. While the cinnamon rolls are baking, make the cream cheese icing by using a hand mixer to whip together cream cheese and butter in a bowl until light and fluffy. Whip in powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Add enough milk to get a super soft consistency.
10. Frost the rolls while still warm. Serve immediately or cool and store. Stays good for 4 to 5 days.

I made them the night before and placed them in the refrigerator before the last rising. In the morning I set them on the counter for an hour before I baked them.