This would make a great centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table.
I tried making a cornucopia by actually weaving strips of dough,
similar to the method for making dough baskets,
but gravity defeated me, so I opted for this much simpler method:
- Make a cone out of lightweight cardboard.
- Cover the cone with tin foil. Add addition tin foil to the top of
the cone to give the mold the curved shape of a cornucopia.
- Prepare the dough. Roll out enough dough (about 1/4" thick) to
completely cover the cone. Wrap the dough around the cone, sealing the
edges by painting a little water between the overlapping edges and pressing
together. Wet your fingers and rub gently on the edges to smooth them
out. Trim off any ragged edges around the opening of the cone.
- Roll out one long "snake" of dough (twice as long as needed
to wrap around the opening of the cone). Fold in half and twist the
ends so you have a coil. Paint the outside edge of the cornucopia opening
with a little water. Press the coil onto the edge gently, enough to
secure it there, but not so hard as to flatten the coil.
- Roll dough about 1/4" thick or less, and cut into strips about
1/2" wide. Wrap the strips horizontally around the cone.
- Take a small paint brush handle or other narrow tool and press ridges
into both the strips and the body of the cone vertically (from the narrow
point of the cone to the wide opening). This will give texture and appearance
of weaving, without the headache.
- Bake at 300° for about 1/2 hour. If you want a golden appearance,
paint with 1 egg beaten together with 1 tsp water. Bake another 1/2
hour or so, turning and basting periodically. After an hour, remove
the cone mold and continue baking for another 15 minutes to 1/2 hour
till it's dry but not brittle.
- Allow to cool, then spray with shellac. Fill with fall grasses, leaves,
fs, gourds, etc. (I even made some little dough pumpkins, one of
which shows in the picture above.)
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