Easy Santa cookies and more

I suffer from a cutesy deficit, which keeps me from being able to pull off the type of perfectly arranged kid-friendly dishes and desserts that festoon women’s magazines. I’m much more interested in grown-up stuff, but that doesn’t help when you have three young children and you constantly get shown up by other mothers with adorable, tedious creations.

This year, I redeemed myself with an incredibly easy Reindeer Cookie, comprised thusly:

Take store-bought peanut butter cookies shaped liked peanuts, such as Nutter Butters.

Melt dipping chocolate. (Check the baking aisle. There are brands you can melt on the stove-top or in the microwave).

Break thin (as thin as you can find) pretzels in four small pieces and slide them into the top of cookie to create antlers. This may require opening the cooking slightly.

Dip one side of red and green colored candies such as M&M’s and place on front of cookie to create eyes and a big red nose.

Serve to Santa.

See pictures here.

On another note, a turkey may come into the picture for many of us this week, and after Thursday, it’ll find its way into sandwiches or turkey and sausage gumbo. But don’t forget the following additional options, whose simple ingredients you can add to your grocery list now:

Turkey noodle soup. After boiling carcass to create stock, you only need egg noodles, onions, celery, carrots and the chopped, cooked turkey.

Turkey, black bean and cheese quesadillas. Chopped, cooked turkey is joined by shredded cheese and washed canned black beans inside flour tortillas. Stopped with your favorite salsa.

Turkey pot pie. Make a quick light roux. Add chopped onions, celery and carrots. Add chicken or turkey stock, peas and chopped turkey. Pour into pie plate, cover with pastry and bake.

Enjoy the holidays.