My brother and his family came to visit us for Thanksgiving this year. We had fun playing inside and outsied!
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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:
- Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Once dough begins to form a ball in the center, dust generously with flour.
- Cover dough with plastic wrap or wax paper and chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- Dust a smooth surface with flour, and roll out a section of the dough to about 1/4 inch thick.
- Use a gingerbread man cookie cutter slice out your Gingerbread Men.
- Bake at 350˚F/180˚C for 10-12 minutes.
- Cool completely before decorating with icing and candies.
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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:
- Heat the chocolate and 2 tablespoons of the milk in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until melted.
- Beat the cream cheese and add the remaining milk. Add chocolate mix and beat until smooth.
- In a bowl, fold the chocolate mix into the cool whip and blend until smooth.
- Spoon the mix into the crusts. I decorated the pies with some extra cool whip and shaved chocolate bar for my son’s birthday.
- Freeze for 4 hours.
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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:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine warm milk and yeast… let set for 5-10 minutes.
- Add sugar, salt, butter, and eggs. Add in flour. Using a dough hook, turn the mixer on to a low speed.
- 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.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly greased mixing bowl. Cover with a towel and let rise until double in size, about 1 hour.
- Lightly grease a baking pan. Punch down the dough and roll into a 12inch by 18inch rectangle.
- 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.
- Place the slices onto a lightly 9×13 pan. Cover and let rise 30 to 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake the rolls for about 20 minutes, until the tops have a touch of brown.
- 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.
- 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.
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