Happy Thanksgiving!

Every year, our playgroup has a potluck Thanksgiving Feast for lunch on the Monday before Thanksgiving. Each family signs up to bring one traditional Thanksgiving item, but with a kid-friendly twist. So instead of turkey with gravy, we might have turkey roll-ups. Instead of mashed potatoes, we have tater tots.  

This year, I signed up for cranberries. Each year I've chosen a different item to force myself not to make the same thing I've done before. I didn't want to do something that anyone else had done before either, so I Googled "cranberry treat." All I got was about a thousand articles about using cranberry juice to treat urinary tract infections.

I had much more success with "cranberry dessert." One caught my eye immediately: Frozen Cranberry Treat. It sounded delicious, kid-friendly, and definitely something we'd never had at our Feast. Other than needing to be frozen overnight, it was quick and easy. Can't beat that!

I cut a sample slice to photograph before racing off to the Feast. Other than the obvious marks from the serrated knife I used (lesson learned), isn't it gorgeous? And it tastes even better than it looks.

Here is the recipe as I made it, followed almost exactly from Cooking from Scratch. (Which, by the way, is an awesome blog. So glad I found it!)
                   

Frozen Cranberry Treat

                                    4 oz cream cheese                                          1 c. heavy whipping cream
                                   16 oz whole cranberry sauce                         1/3 c. powdered sugar
                                    8 oz crushed pineapple, drained                  1 tsp. vanilla

Let the cream cheese sit until room temperature. Beat for one minute until smooth and light. Stir in cranberry sauce and pineapple. In a separate bowl, combine the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Whip until it forms soft peaks. Fold into the cranberry mixture.

Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap and pour the mixture in. Smooth the top and cover with another piece of plastic wrap. Freeze overnight. Unmold and cut into slices. Serve immediately.