TURKEY COOKIES & SIMMERING POTPOURRI!!

SIMMERING POTPOURRI

It’s that time of year when we might hanker for the scent of something warm and spicy emanating from the kitchen. If you don’t have the time or inclination to actually make an apple pie or cinnamon rolls, how about throwing together some simmering potpourri!
A pot of aromatic cinnamon potpourri simmering on your hearth completes the harvest atmosphere.

CINNAMON POTPOURRI

3 cinnamon sticks
3 bay leaves
½ cup lemon juice or 1 lemon cut into pieces
1/4 cup whole cloves
1 orange peel
1 qt. water
Place in pot, slow cooker or saucepan. Heat on low heat. You can refrigerate and reuse any leftovers!

Turkey at Thanksgiving is a timeless tradition. But you can give your holiday meal a novel twist with these birds of a different feather. The holiday treats are cute, sweet and made from all kinds of goodies youngsters love to nibble on.

OREO TURKEY

INGREDIENTS:
7 Candy Corn
2 Double Stuffed Oreo Cookies
1 Whopper
1 Reese's Peanut Butter Cup
1 Tube of black piping gel
1 tube of white icing
1 Yellow and red food coloring
1 Yellow and red food coloring
1 plastic Ziploc bag
1 sharp knife
1 pair of scissors
1 bowl

DIRECTIONS:
Put your Peanut Butter Cups in the fridge to cool. If you have cold hard chocolate to work with it makes it a lot easier.

Squeeze some of the white icing into a bowl. This will be your orange. Mix red and yellow food coloring with the icing to create your desired orange. Then put that into a plastic bag and set it aside for later.

Creating:
First you will be creating the tail using 1 Oreo cookie and 6 Candy Corns. Gently, with one candy corn, pull apart just one side of the Oreo don't break! . Put a good amount of icing in between the two sides. This will help the Candy Corn stay. Place 6 Candy Corn (white side down) in between the cookie. See picture.

Take your white icing and squeeze a generous amount onto the top back of an Oreo cookie. Take the other Oreo and put the bottom into the icing to have it stand up. If it doesn't stand, add more icing! Once you have it stand put it up against something so it doesn't fall until the icing is dry. Use a thick book.


Remove your Peanut Butter Cup from the fridge. Take your knife and cut off the very bottom so you have a flat surface. Put icing on the bottom of it the bigger flat. Bump it up against the bottom and back of your Oreo cookies. See picture.

Next take your Whopper and squeeze more icing on it on one side. Place the whopper on top of the Peanut Butter Cup to make your head.

Find a piece of Candy Corn that has a nice big white end. Using your sharp knife cut the color off leaving you with the white end. Place some icing on it and stick it on your whopper as the beak to your Oreo Turkey. Hold for a moment.

If you want wings on your turkey add two candy corns to the sides like in the picture

Take your icing and place two white dots as eyes. Get your tube of black piping gel and place a black dot on each eye to make them come alive.

Grab your bag of already created orange. Cut a very small hold in the corner of the bag. Pipe the feet.
Recipe by Kimi Coopet

A FLOCK OF TURKEYS

Making a gaggle of these gobblers is a fun project to do with kids,"

INGREDIENTS:
48 sugar cookies (3 inches) Use Nabisco Pinwheels
1 package (12 ounces) chocolate and marshmallow cookies
1 can (16 ounces) chocolate frosting
1 cup vanilla frosting
Yellow and red paste food coloring
DIRECTIONS:
Using a serrated knife, cut 1/2 in. from one side of 24 sugar cookies. Using a sharp knife, cut marshmallow cookies in half vertically. Spread chocolate frosting over the bottom of each marshmallow cookie half; align cut edges of a marshmallow cookie and a sugar cookie, and press together to form each turkey body and feathers.
Spread chocolate frosting over the cut edges of each turkey; position and attach near the back edge of a whole sugar cookie.
Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry or plastic bag. Insert a #12 round pastry tip; fill bag with 3/4 cup chocolate frosting. Pipe a neck and head on each turkey.
Tint 1/2 cup vanilla frosting yellow and 1/2 cup red. With a #3 round pastry tip and yellow frosting, add eyes, beaks and legs. With #3 round tip and red frosting, pipe snood and tail feathers. Store in the refrigerator.
Recipe by Zoraya Jennings

COOKIE TURKEYS

Folks will gobble up these sweet-tasting turkeys, whether the easy-to-assemble goodies are sold at fund-raisers or featured on holiday tables.

INGREDIENTS:
40 fudge-striped cookies
1/4 cup chocolate frosting
2 packages (5 ounces each) chocolate-covered cherries
20 pieces candy corn
DIRECTIONS:
Place 20 cookies on a flat surface, solid chocolate side down. With frosting attach a chocolate-covered cherry to the top of each base cookie. Position another cookie perpendicular to each base cookie; attach with frosting.
With a dab of frosting, attach one piece of candy corn to the front of each cherry for the head. Let stand until set.
Recipe by Sue Gronholz

Gobbler Goodies

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup butter, cubed
4 cups miniature marshmallows
6 cups crisp rice cereal
28 chocolate cream-filled sandwich cookies
1-1/2 cups chocolate frosting
1 package (12-1/2 ounces) candy corn

DIRECTIONS:
In a large saucepan, melt butter. Add marshmallows; stir over low heat until melted. Stir in cereal. Cool for 10 minutes. With buttered hands, form cereal mixture into 1-1/2-in. balls. Twist apart sandwich cookies; spread frosting on the inside of cookies.
Place 28 cookie halves under cereal balls to form the base for each turkey. Place three pieces of candy corn in a fan pattern on remaining cookie halves; press each half onto a cereal ball to form the tail. Attach remaining candy corn with frosting to form turkey's head.
Recipe by Sue Gronholz

This & That Kitchen Junk Drawer Wednesday!!!

Alright I know I am a day late and a dollar short....but better late than never!!!!
Well I won the Tuesday Weigh In Challenge....but just barely...Mary lost just .2 lbs less than I did....Good for her and all the girls that try so hard to eat and live a healthy lifestyle...I am so proud of them...

Saw this in my newspaper and thought I would pass it on to you....We can all take an example from this 83 year old woman...Kay MacVey clips coupons for the "Coupons for the Military" an American Legion Auxiliary service project....She has mailed more than $1 million worth of coupons to commissaries in Germany, Japan, Italy, Turkey, the Netherlands and South Korea, where U.S. military families are able to to redeem them to save money on groceries...If you want to do something for the troops, then start clipping coupons and mail them to:
Kay MacVey
3419 Polaris Drive
Ames, Iowa 50010...

I normally give you healthy recipes, but we all need a sinful treat every once in awhile....so here goes.

S'MORES BROWNIES:

Ingredients
Crust:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch fine salt
Brownie:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
4 large cold eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
Topping:
4 cups large marshmallows
Directions
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 8 by-8-inch square baking pan with foil so it hangs over the edges by about 1 inch.
For the crust: Lightly butter the foil with some of the melted butter. Stir the rest of the butter together with the crumbs, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Press the crumb mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the brownie. Put the butter and chocolate in a medium microwave safe bowl. Melt in the microwave on 75 percent power for 2 minutes. Stir, and microwave again until completely melted, about 2 minutes more. Alternatively, put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1 inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl on the pan without touching the water. Stir occasionally until melted. Stir the light brown and white sugars, vanilla and salt into the melted chocolate. Add the eggs and beat vigorously to make a thick and glossy batter. Add the flour and stir until just incorporated.
Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the top is crispy and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean, with a few crumbs, about 40 to 45 minutes.
Remove from the oven and carefully position a rack about 6 inches from the broiler and preheat on low. Layer marshmallows across the top and toast under the broiler until golden, (keep an eye on it, it can go quick), about 2 minutes. Cool on a rack, gently removing the brownies from the pan using the aluminum flaps. Carefully separate any marshmallow from the foil and fold away. Cut into 12 (2-inch) squares.

How To Make New Paper Look Old:

The aged look is in -- whether it's for heritage layouts, shabby chic looks, vintage designs, or to indicate distressed paper.
Altered book artists often ask the question,"How do I make paper look old?" A number of products will help you get that aged look you want -- many of which are found in your own kitchen.
You will have to experiment to get the look you are going for -- or perhaps you will inadvertently discover a look you just love! Serendipity is a big factor in making altered books.
Tips for Making Paper Look Old
Tea Bag Staining:
Drag a wet (not dripping) tea bag over your paper. Weight your paper down while it dries to avoid warping. The paper will be stained a brownish color. A lingering tea-smell might remain. Tea-bag staining is not acid free, if this matters to you.
Coffee Grounds Staining:
Like tea, you can use coffee grounds to make paper look old. Apply wet coffee grounds to your paper. Remove grounds. The paper will be stained brown. Dry paper under a weight to avoid warping. As above, there is likely to be a coffee odor afterwards. Coffee grounds are also not acid free.
Balsamic Vinegar Spattering:
Same as above. Expect odor. Vinegar is not acid free.
Lemon Juice:
Paint your paper with lemon juice, then heat with a heat gun. The paper will take on a brownish, aged look. It will continue to darken as you continue to apply heat. Lemon juice is not acid free.
Decorating Chalks:
These chalks are my favorite way to make paper look old. Apply the chalk (one of the brownish colors) to the paper using a cotton ball, makeup sponge, Q-tip or swab. This is especially effective on the ripped edges of paper or vellum. Allow the chalks to set, or spray with a fixative if speed in important. Decorating chalks have many uses when making altered books. Acid free decorating chalks are available at joann.com .
Walnut Ink:
Walnut ink is made from black walnuts. It is usually sold in crystallized form, and must be hydrated before using. Apply the wet walnut ink to the paper, lace, fabric or other material. You can create various effects as you strive to make paper look old. For more information about walnut ink, refer to the Definitions page of this web site.
Paper Tearing:
Instead of cutting your paper neatly, tear it. Holding the paper towards you while you tear will produce one look; holding it away from you will produce another. Color the torn edges with decorative chalk, walnut ink, tea bags, or similar to give an aged appearance.
Bleaching:
Apply household bleach to your paper. Apply directly with an eye-dropper, brush or sponge, or use a water-color pen. If it is available in your area, a Chlorox Bleach Pen is also a good choice. Note that some papers could contain inks that are colorfast and bleach-resistant. You will find more information about bleaching in the tip on using bleach in this section of the website.
Sanding with Sand Paper:
Lightly sand shiny paper or other paper to produce "tooth" or a worn look. Sand the same way you sand wood -- in a directional move, rather than circular.
Paper Crumpling:
Crumple up your paper. Flatten it out, then crumple again. Repeat as often as you wish before using the paper in your layout. Iron the finished paper if desired, for a special look, or try placing the (thickish) paper in water before crumpling for yet a different look.
Paper Burning:
Another way to make paper look old is to burn the edges of the paper. For safety's sake, do this over a sink, using a candle or stick of incense. Pinch the firey edges out with your finger. If desired, wet an inner border on your paper before applying the flame. You can do the wetting with a damp Q-tip, paint brush, or your finger. This prevents the paper from burning more than you want, since the wet inner border will prevent the flame from going further.
Candle Waxing:
Write over your paper with a white candle, covering as much area as you can. Crush the paper so the wax cracks. Apply paint over the surface, forming random cracks. Remove the wax by ironing your paper. Place it between two sheets of paper towels padded with newspaper on both sides and use a hot iron.
Matte Gel or Matte Medium:
These products will take the shine off paper or pictures, etc.

Edible Turkeys! To Make With The Whole Family!

Cookie Turkeys

Ingredients:
40 fudge-striped cookies
1/4 cup chocolate frosting
2 packages (5 ounces each) chocolate-covered cherries
20 pieces candy corn
Directions:
Place 20 cookies on a flat surface, solid chocolate side down. With frosting attach a chocolate-covered cherry to the top of each base cookie. Position another cookie perpendicular to each base cookie; attach with frosting.
With a dab of frosting, attach one piece of candy corn to the front of each cherry for the head. Let stand until set. 20 cookies

Pilgrim Hat Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup vanilla frosting
7 drops yellow food coloring
32 miniature peanut butter cups
1 package (11-1/2 ounces) fudge-striped cookies
32 pieces orange mini Chiclets gum
Directions:
In a small shallow bowl, combine frosting and food coloring. Remove paper liners from peanut butter cups.
Holding the bottom of a peanut butter cup, dip top of cup in yellow frosting. Position over center hole of a cookie, forming the hatband and crown. Add a buckle of Chiclets gum. Repeat with remaining cups and cookies..32 cookies

Turkey Cupcakes:

1-box devil's food cake mix
water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box
2-containers (1lb each)milk chocolate frosting
1-tube(4.25 oz)white decorating icing
1-tube (0.68) oz) brown decorating gel
candy corn
chocolate candy sprinkles
Heat oven to 350%
make and cool cake as directed on box for 24 cupcakes
Frost with the frosting. Put the remainng frosting in corner of resealable freezer plastic bag. Snip off small corner of the bag..
To decorate each cupcake, pipe 1-inch mound of frosting on 1 side of cupcake to look like head of the turkey. Make the eyes with the 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 ad candy corn at base of cupcake for feet. Store loosely covered..24 cupcakes