Thanksgiving Traditions & Recipe Swap

Thanksgiving Day will be here in less than two weeks. I don’t know about you, but my mind kicked in gear about the middle of October when I began decorating for Fall. I’ve already started planning for our family Thanksgiving festivities.

Of course, we’ll have the traditional smoked turkey, honey-baked ham, dressing, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, deviled eggs, mashed potatoes, cut corn, black-eyed peas, Scandinavian salad (my husband’s favorite), and hot rolls.

Dessert is top on my list of favorites. Tell the truth; sometimes we’d rather have dessert first! Right? I must admit to dabbling in some of the desserts, but I figure if I did the cooking I have the right to taste each one to make sure it’s suitable to serve. At least, that’s my excuse.

I’d never been a fan of pumpkin pies or any other pumpkin flavored dish until Starbucks introduced the pumpkin spice latte and their addictive pumpkin spice scones. Oh my! Warm those babies up, and the flavor tantalizes my taste buds, leaving me wanting more. Goodness! Now I’m ready to explore the possibilities of new pumpkin delicacies. Any recipe ideas you can share with me?

I always prepare an overabundance of pecan pies. Any time of the year is a good time to bless others, but Thanksgiving and Christmas inspire me, even more, to give to friends and family. It’s hard for me to refrain from eating half a pie in one sitting, so I pace myself throughout the…day! Oops, did I really just tell you that?

About a week before Thanksgiving my house smells like a bakery. The table fills with Mississippi Mud Cake, German Chocolate Caramel Bars, Apricot Cake, Chess Cake, and homemade Chocolate Chip-Oatmeal Cookies. Desserts vary from year to year, but not much. We always have a variety.

My grown children argue over who gets first dibs on the German Chocolate Caramel Bars, all in good fun of course. So, I’ve selected this recipe to share with you.

Step 1:

60 light caramels

½ cup evaporated milk

In a heavy saucepan, combine caramels and ½ cup evaporated milk. Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly until the caramels are melted. Set aside.

Step 2

1 package German chocolate cake mix

¾ cup margarine, melted

½ cup evaporated milk

1 cup chopped pecans

In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, melted butter, ½ cup evaporated milk, and chopped pecans. Then, press ½ of the dough mixture into a greased and floured 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for eight minutes. Note: Hold the other half of dough mixture for later.

Step 3

Remove baked crust from oven. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over baked crust, then pour/spread melted caramel mixture over the chocolate chips.

Now, crumble the rest of the dough over the layer of melted caramel.

Return pan to the oven and bake 18-20 minutes.

Cool slightly, then, refrigerate 30 minutes to set caramel. Cut into squares or bars, whichever you prefer. Makes 36 bars.

 

I hope you enjoy this special treat!

Do you have a favorite recipe you’d like to share? I love trying new ones!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family,

Loretta