Cook Like Us

This recipe makes 10 servings.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup honey or corn syrup
• 12 drops red food coloring
• 4 cups chilled pineapple juice
• 6 ounces frozen limeade concentrate
• 3 cups chilled ginger ale

Method:

1. Combine honey and food coloring in shallow pan; mix until well blended. Dip rims of 10 wine goblets into mixture one at a time, coating rims. Turn upright and let stand to allow mixture to drip down sides, resembling blood. Place paper towel around base of glasses to catch drips.
2. Combine pineapple juice and limeade in punch bowl. Stir until limeade dissolves; stir in ginger ale. Fill each wine goblet with lime chiller.

This recipe makes 1 dozen large cookies.

Ingredients:

• 1 package (18 ounces) refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• White, red, yellow and orange decorating icings
• Chocolate sprinkles, mini chocolate chips and red licorice

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease cookie sheets. Remove dough from wrapper; place in large bowl. Let dough stand at room temperature about 15 minutes.
2. Add flour and cinnamon to dough; beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended.
3. Shape dough into 12 (1-1/2-inch) balls, 12 (1-inch) balls and 12 (3/4-inch) balls.
4. Flatten large balls into 4-inch rounds on prepared cookie sheets; freeze 10 minutes. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
5. Flatten medium balls into 2-1/4-inch rounds on prepared cookie sheets; freeze 10 minutes. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
6. Flatten small balls into 1-inch rounds on prepared cookie sheets; freeze 10 minutes. Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
7. Decorate large cookies with red, yellow and orange icings and chocolate sprinkles to make feathers. Place medium cookies on large cookies, towards bottom; place small cookies above medium cookies on large cookies. Decorate turkeys as shown in photo using icings, chocolate chips and licorice to make eyes, beaks, gobblers and feet. Let stand 20 minutes or until set.

This recipe makes 1 dozen large cookies.

Ingredients:

• 1 package (18 ounces) refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips
• Granulated sugar
• 48 small gumdrops to match school colors
• Cookie Glaze (recipe follows)
• Food colorings to match school colors
• 12 graham cracker squares

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 12 (2-1/2-inch) muffin cups. Remove dough from wrapper according to package directions. Beat dough, flour and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Shape dough into 12 balls; press onto bottoms and up sides of prepared muffin cups.
2. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until lightly browned; let cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.
3. Sprinkle sugar on waxed paper. For each tassel, slightly flatten 3 gumdrops. Place gumdrops, with ends overlapping slightly, on sugared surface. Sprinkle with additional sugar as needed. Roll flattened gumdrops into 3X1-inch piece with rolling pin, turning piece over frequently to coat with sugar. Trim and discard edges of gumdrop piece. Cut piece into 2-1/2X1/4-inch strips. Cut bottom part into several lengthwise strips to form fringe.
4. Prepare Cookie Glaze. Tint glaze desired color. Place cookies upside down on wire racks set over waxed paper. Spread glaze over cookies to cover completely. Spread glaze over graham crackers; carefully set crackers on tops of cookies. Place tassel on each cap. Set gumdrop on each tassel for cap button. Let stand 40 minutes or until glaze is set.
5. Cookie Glaze: Combine 4 cups powdered sugar and 6 to 8 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, to make a medium-thick pourable glaze.

This recipe makes 14 to 16 servings.

Ingredients:

• 1 (10-inch) bundt cake
• 1 (10-inch) round cake board, covered, or large plate
• 1 container (16 ounces) white frosting
• Orange food coloring
• Assorted animal-shaped cookies
• Decorating gel (optional)
• Assorted candies and decors
• Colored or striped drinking straws
• Paper Carousel Roof (instructions follow)

Method:

1. Place cake on prepared cake board.
2. Tint frosting orange. Frost cake with orange frosting, allowing frosting to drip down side of cake.
3. Outline animal-shaped cookies with decorating gel, if desired; arrange cookies on top of cake. Press candies and decors lightly into frosting.
4. Place straws around cake to support carousel roof; carefully set roof on top of straws.
5. Paper Carousel Roof: To create carousel roof, cut out 7-1/2-inch circle from 8-1/2×11-inch sheet of construction paper. Cut one slit from outer edge of circle to center; tape cut edges together to form carousel roof. For a two-color carousel, cut a second 7-1/2-inch circle from construction paper in another color and fold into 8 wedges. Carefully cut out 4 wedges; glue them onto first circle of paper so colors alternate (before cuting the slit and taping the edges).

This recipe makes about 14 to 18 servings.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups cake batter
• 1 (10-inch) round cake board, covered, or large plate
• 1.75 cups prepared white frosting
• Assorted black, yellow and red candies
• Black licorice twists

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 2-1/2-quart ovenproof bowl. Pour cake batter into prepared bowl. Bake 60 to 70 minutes or until wooden skewer inserted into center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in bowl. Loosen edge; invert onto wire rack and cool completely.
2. Trim flat side of cake. Turn cake over and cut small piece from top of cake to slightly flatten back of bee, if desired. Place cake on prepared cake board.
3. Reserve 1/4 cup white frosting. Tint 3/4 cup frosting black and 3/4 cup frosting yellow.
4. Using toothpick, mark semicircle about 3-1/2 inches from one edge of cake for face, and 3 parallel semicircles for rest of body.
5. Frost face with reserved white frosting. Alternately frost body sections with yellow and black, piping frosting with floral tip to create fuzzy texture, if desired. Reserve small portion of black frosting.
6. Using medium writing tip and reserved black frosting, pipe line between head and body.
7. Arrange assorted candies and licorice twists for face, antennae, legs, wings and stinger as shown in photo.

This recipe makes 24 cupcakes.

Ingredients:

• 1 package (18-1/4 ounces) cake mix, any flavor, plus ingredients to prepare mix
• 1 container (16 ounces) white frosting
• Blue and green food coloring
• Assorted candies and colored sugar
• Red licorice strings, cut into 4-inch pieces

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray 24 standard (2-1/2-inch) muffin pan cups with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling two-thirds full.
3. Bake about 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pans on wire racks about 10 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely.
4. Divide frosting equally between 2 small bowls. Add food coloring to each bowl, one drop at a time, to reach desired shades; stir each frosting until well blended.
5. Cut cupcakes in half. Place cupcake halves together, cut sides out, to resemble butterfly wings. Frost with desired colors; decorate with candies and colored sugar as desired. Snip each end of licorice string pieces to form antennae; place in center of each cupcake.

This recipe makes 10 cookies.

Ingredients:

• 1 package (18 ounces) refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 1 container (16 ounces) prepared white frosting
• Food coloring (optional)
• Colored sprinkles or decors
• 10 small birthday candles

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 10 mini (1-3/4-inch) muffin pan cups and 10 standard (2-1/2-inch) muffin pan cups. Shape one-third of dough into 10 (1-inch) balls; press onto bottoms and up sides of prepared mini muffin cups. Shape remaining two-third of dough into 10 equal balls; press onto bottoms and up sides of prepared standard muffin cups.
2. Bake mini cookies 8 to 9 minutes or until edges are light brown. Bake regular cookies 10 to 11 minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool 5 minutes in pans on wire racks. Remove cookies to wire racks; cool completely.
3. Add food coloring, if desired, to frosting; mix well. Spread frosting over top and side of each cookie. Place 1 mini cookie on top of 1 regular cookie. Decorate with sprinkles. Press 1 candle into center of each cookie.

This recipe makes 2 dozen cookies.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1.5 cups cake flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• White, pink and blue icings

Method:

1. Beat butter, sugar, egg and vanilla in large bowl at medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Stir in flours and baking powder until well blended. Form dough into ball; wrap in plastic wrap and flatten. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until firm.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease cookie sheets. Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness on floured surface. Cut out dough with 3-1/2-inch baby bottle-shaped cookie cutter. Place cutouts 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough and scraps.
3. Bake cutouts 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are golden. Cool on cookie sheets 1 to 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
4. Decorate cookies with white, pink and blue icings as shown in photo or as desired. Let stand until icing is set.

This recipe makes about 2.5 dozen cookies.

Ingredients:

• 2.75 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 container (16 ounces) white frosting
• Green or blue gummy candy rings
• 1 tube (0.6 ounce) black decorating gel
• 1 tube (0.6 ounce) red decorating gel

Method:

1. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat together butter and both sugars in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture gradually; mix well. Divide dough into two oval discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Draw oval “eye” shape (about 4X2 inches) on piece of cardboard. Cut out shape and use as stencil for cutting cookie dough. Place cutouts 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to wire racks; cool completely.
3. Spread frosting evenly over cooled cookies. Use candy rings to form an “iris” on each cookie. Fill in pupils and make eyelashes with black decorating gel. Decorate cookies with red decorating gel for bloodshot effect.

This recipe makes 32 servings.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans (6 ounces each) crabmeat or 2 cups fresh shelled crabmeat
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Colby cheese
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons cold water
• 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
• Cucumber slices (optional)
• Fresh dill sprigs (optional)

Method:

1. Lightly spray 1-quart fish-shaped or other shaped mold with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Pick out and discard any shell pieces or cartilage from crabmeat; place in large bowl. Add cheese, celery, onion and bell peppers; toss gently.
3. Combine sour cream, mayonnaise, chili sauce and lemon juice in small bowl. Pour cold water into small saucepan; stir in gelatin. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thoroughly dissolved. Stir quickly into sour cream mixture.
4. Fold sour cream mixture into crab mixture; spoon into prepared mold. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 3 hours or until set. Unmold onto serving platter. Garnish with cucumber slices and dill sprigs.