I have two centerpiece ideas today. One is pretty quick and easy and the other is still easy but a bit more time intense. We’re having Thanksgiving dinner start at 5 tomorrow so I could fill the table with pretty candles. That means we need to have appetizers to keep the hanger at bay. We’re doing a relish tray and an antipasti tray. I wanted to antipasti platter to have a big more impact so I made a cornucopia to have it all spilling out of. You’ll need a large cup or water bottle, tin foil and dough. I used pizza crust but I’ve read that any dough besides the biscuit dough will work great.
Take a sheet of tin foil (I wanted a large cornucopia so I used a longer sheet) and place your cup on an angle.
Wrap it until you have a cone shape like this. Repeat this step until you get your desired thickness. Remember, this form keeps your dough holding it’s shape so make sure it’ll be strong. I used 4 and I wish I would’ve used 6 because when I removed the tin foil my shape sagged a bit.
After you have completed your thickness, remove your cup or bottle from the inside. Then you’ll want to fold in the top pieces into the mouth and shape the end of your tail. I also took several balls of tin foil and pushed them inside to help keep the shape while baking.
Roll your dough into a square, keep your dough at least 1/2 inch thick. I rolled mine too thin and it made the bottom very fragile. Then cut into 7 strips. Put 3 strips to the side.
Take those 3 strips and braid them. Mine were long enough that I was able to do a double braid around the opening. If you keep an inch or so of foil showing before the dough it’ll make it easier to remove later.
Take the remaining strips of dough and wrap them around your form, making sure to overlap each layer a bit so as it bakes it has something to adhere to. Don’t wrap it too tight around your form though, it makes it a beast to remove the tin foil!
Before you place it in the oven give it a good egg wash all over so it’ll get that pretty golden brown. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes (on the lowest rack possible) or until you like the golden brown color. If the end gets a bit crispy before you’re ready to take it out a thin sheet of tin foil over it will keep it from getting burned while the rest continues to bake. Take it out and let it cook completely before removing the tin foil. I didn’t let mine cool completely and that added to not using enough tin foil and the opening went from a tall O to a wide O as you can see. I’m still pretty happy with it and I’ll have it perfected for the next time I make it!
The quick and easy centerpiece is SO simple that you’ll probably roll your eyes that I put it on here. Grab a container (I had a wicker cornucopia that obviously was perfect) and some wet floral foam. Make sure it’s not dry floral foam because it won’t absorb any water to keep your flowers hydrated. Trim in to your container and soak it in water for about a minute. Trim your flowers and stick them into the foam until you’re happy with all the flower placements.
See? Ridiculously easy so it’s perfect for a last minute floral centerpiece!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
