Easy Thanksgiving Turkey Cookies

Thanksgiving is almost here and everyone is making cute stuff for their tables.  Turkeys abound!  These are my favorite Thanksgiving decorations that are also tasty little cookie treats.  Kids love them!  Best of all - no baking or cooking of any kind - just assembly!  I originally posted this in 2011, but the recipe never gets old.

I love doing DIYs, but the best DIYs have pictures.  I'm going one step further here, and doing this DIY with JUST PICTURES.  Enough words - on with the directions:

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Step 4:

Step 5:

TAA DAAA!

Turkeys quickly multiply . . .

until they are a flock!

BTW, you can use either the chocolate covered cherries or mint drops for the body.

cindy

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies!

O.K., by now pumpkin might be getting a little old for most of you, but here's one more recipe I'll throw at you.  The pumpkin taste isn't as prevalent and there are chocolate and cheesecake tastes to boot!   I will admit that instead of being a purist by making the homemade portion of these brownies, I took the easy way out and used a box brownie mix and kept the recipe limited to the yummy pumpkin cheesecake topping.  Without further delay, here is the recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake Swirl Brownies from Table for Two Blog:

Ingredients:

1 box brownie mix (and all the ingredients required to make them) (I would suggest a "moist" brownie mix - advertised as extra fudge or rich)

4 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1/4 c. granulated sugar

1/3 c. pumpkin puree (you can use canned pumpkin and puree it with a blender)

1 large egg (in addition to any that might be required for the brownie mix)

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Prepare oven according to brownie mix directions.  For best results, use a parchment lined pan and spray it with non-stick spray.  After preparing brownie mix and pouring it into the pan, set aside and make the topping:

Beat together cream cheese and sugar until fluffy.  Add pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and egg and beat until well mixed.  Using a tablespoon put spoonfuls of the topping onto the brownie batter.  Using a toothpick or knife, swirl it around into the batter.  Don't forget to make some pretty patterns!

Bake the brownies according to directions (about 35-40 minutes).  Definitely don't over bake.  If your mix offers you the difference between a chewy brownie or a more cake-like brownie, choose the chewy - you don't want these like cake.  After baking the center should still be jiggly.  Let cool 20 minutes and then use the parchment paper to lift out of the pan onto a wire rack to cool completely.  After cool, put them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before cutting.

Here they are.  (Again, photographing food is not by best skill):

Enjoy for the holidays or anytime during the year!

cindy

Still the BEST Pumpkin Bars!

It's Pumpkin Palooza week and here is a recipe that lives up to its name.

The BEST Pumpkin Bars Ever

No kidding - these are the ones!  I don't know if I ever tasted a pumpkin "bar", but these things are the bomb!  I can't take credit for any part of this - not the title, the recipe or the awesomeness, but I do want to introduce you to one of the most fabulous pumpkin things I have ever eaten.

I found this recipe through a beautiful photograph on Pinterest.  That led me to Mique at 30 Handmade Days and her great recipe.  Click through the link to her post and the recipe; it's written out in a way you can print it or save it.

These bars are definitely not for those on a diet - they are made with oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin and a few other ingredients.  They have a consistency almost like a moist brownie.  The frosting is a homemade cream cheese frosting (which I plan to use on many more recipes).  They can be baked in a shallow pan like a cookie sheet.  I chose to use a 9 x 13" pan, so mine are deeper and denser.

The taste?  You can eat them cold, or better yet, warmed with the frosting melting slightly.  When they're cold, they taste like a wedge of pumpkin pie, but with a firmer consistency.  When they are warmed up, they melt in your mouth.  They stay firm and moist, even after a couple of days.  We stored them open in the refrigerator and cut them as we ate them, and they never dried out.

These pumpkin bars passed the picky test with my kids and husband, which is impressive for a pumpkin dish.  This recipe is definitely a keeper and one I plan to pull out for a party this weekend.

Yum!

cindy