Over the course of the last week we've celebrated Thanksgiving quite a few times. We shared a meal with John Neal's parents last Saturday before they departed for their week-long trip to Virginia. We gathered at Grandmother & Granddaddy's house on Sunday for the Williams Thanksgiving....and then we feasted one final time on Thursday at Aunt Sheila's with Mama & Papa's side of the family. Each one was perfect in it's own way - but they all shared a similar theme of gratitude. I am so thankful we were all able to get together in one way or another to express grateful hearts for family.
An additional benefit to all of these gatherings, is the spread of yummy food to enjoy. And for someone who loves baking - it's a great reason to spend some QT in the kitchen. Pecan pie screams holiday and I was excited to be in charge of the pies for Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks to Heather & Scott, I have these super cute pastry cutters from Williams-Sonoma that form different little leaf patterns. I prepared the pie and then decorated the crust with the festive leaves for a fun touch!
By John Neal's request, I decided to make some cake balls as well. They basically consisted of crumbled cake mixed with icing, rolled into little balls and dipped in chocolate. I've only made these in the past with Funfetti mix, but I decided to use chocolate cake, chocolate icing and white chocolate this go-round. If you haven't had cake balls before - they're a treat! 1-2 bites of a rich and tasty dessert!
Click below for the recipe http://www.smithfield.com/recipes/recipe/paulas-cake-balls The pictures of the finished product on this website are a lot more professional than my version to the right...but don't be deceived, they taste better than they look.
I'm also thankful for my VERY first Black Friday shopping experience. There are many folks out there that probably thought they would never hear the word thankful and shopping uttered by me in the same sentence, but it really was great. Despite the alarm sounding at an unpleasant hour - the experience was full of numerous good deals, a lot of accomplishments on my Christmas gift checklist and a fun time with my mom. No promises that it will become an annual tradition, but I'm not ruling it out. ;)
A few pics of my turkeys from this weeks festivities....
Hope you and your family had a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Your pie looks divine, nice work! Happy Thanksgiving!
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