Day Before Thanksgiving

We had a great day with school off and lots of cooking together: pumpkin pie, apple pie with G. friends' apples (to bake from the freezer), buns, mashed potatoes, strawberry fluff frozen dessert.

 Carrots and celery prep, with help from the always capable Miss O.

 Pumpkin mints for favors by the littles, with some help on the side from M.

Mr. O concentrates. They played that they had a factory and Mr. O had them organized. If anyone ate a pumpkin, they were fired. I think they might unionize.

They are tiny pumpkins and don't look like much, but there are more than 80 there!

 

Recipe is simple:

1 stick butter or margarine (room temp.)

1 Tbsp. evaporated milk (or other milk)

4 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. extract (flavor of choice-peppermint, maple, vanilla, etc.)

red and yellow food coloring

whole cloves

 

Whip butter and milk with mixer. Add powdered sugar gradually. Mix well. Add extract and food coloring to make pumpkin orange. Roll pieces into small balls. Make pumpkin grooves with round toothpick rolled along sides, top to bottom. Place on waxed paper and push upside down whole clove into top for stem. Let dry and harden before storing.  (We often make these with Sculpey clay for fall crafts. Bake according to clay directions.)