Katie and Buford snuggled on the big couch. This was the first time we got to meet Buford. He is the sweetest puppy. Such a good boy too... at least while he's traveling, right, Kate?Since I volunteered to be in charge of desserts for Thanksgiving, Wednesday was spent baking, baking, and baking. Have I mentioned that I love baking? I just wish my kitchen was a bit bigger and I had maid that would clean up after me while I bake.
Katie helped me so much! Here she is putting the chocolate coating on some buckeyes (recipe further down). 
I'm showing you this picture for two reasons. The first reason is that I think it's funny even though it's blurry. I was pretending to eat a buckeye... or did I really eat it, Katie? I can't remember. The second reason is that you can see just how messy my kitchen was while we were baking. Do you see the sink full of dishes? There are clean dishes lined up on the half wall. There are dishes and ingredients stacked up on the counter behind me. This is how I work, folks. 
We had leftover melted chocolate after we dipped our buckeyes so we coated some pretzel rods and Katie was in charge of putting sprinkles on them. She took her job very seriously and did a beautiful job. We ate these after dinner since we couldn't eat the Thanksgiving desserts. 
Aren't they beautiful? I love pretzels dipped in chocolate. This post is making me hungry. One of the hazards of blogging, I suppose. 
Devin and Jon worked on a puzzle for a bit. If you try one new recipe this Christmas season, let it be these buckeyes. They're like Reece's cups but better in my opinion. They have a slight crispness because of the graham cracker crumbs. They're just the right balance of sweetness and slight saltiness of the peanut butter. I have to say that I ate quite a few of these little guys. They were really easy to make, too.
Buckeyes
Chris helped Katie and I mix up these pumpkin pies. I never get tired of pumpkin pie.
It's rare that I don't alter a recipe. This Almost Famous Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe needs no alteration. I made it last year for Christmas and it was fantastic! This year I can't eat it due to the dairy but I still made it knowing everyone else would enjoy it... especially Mark!
It really is worth the time to make this cheesecake. It knocks pumpkin pie right out of the water!
So, those were the desserts of Thanksgiving. I hope everyone enjoyed eating them as much as I enjoyed making them (with Katie's help). I really wish I had some dessert right about now....
Buckeyes1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
10 Tbsp. butter (or Earth Balance), melted and cooled
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
-With a mixer, mix together peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar until well combined.
- Roll peanut butter mixture into balls in the palm of your hands. Make them as big or as small as you like. I made them about a Tbsp's worth of filling per ball. Set them aside on a baking sheet while you melt the chocolate.
- Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds at a time, stirring often until 75% of the chips are melted. The residual heat will melt the rest. You do NOT want to over heat the chocolate.
- Line a sheet pan with waxed paper or parchment paper. Take one peanut butter ball at a time and dip the bottoms in the chocolate. Place the coated peanut butter ball on the paper line baking sheet to set up. Repeat until all candies are coated with chocolate.
*I've tried a few ways to dip them into the chocolate and none worked better then just using my fingers. The sides get a little smudged but they still taste great.*
-Set the buckeyes aside in a cool place until the chocolate sets. Store at cool room temperature.
Chris helped Katie and I mix up these pumpkin pies. I never get tired of pumpkin pie.
I couldn't resist making another apple slab. This picture was taken before I put the icing on. I waited until the next day to add the icing since I didn't want it to get soggy. Apple Slab
It's rare that I don't alter a recipe. This Almost Famous Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe needs no alteration. I made it last year for Christmas and it was fantastic! This year I can't eat it due to the dairy but I still made it knowing everyone else would enjoy it... especially Mark!
It really is worth the time to make this cheesecake. It knocks pumpkin pie right out of the water!So, those were the desserts of Thanksgiving. I hope everyone enjoyed eating them as much as I enjoyed making them (with Katie's help). I really wish I had some dessert right about now....
