Apple Butter Kolacky and Baby Blue Heron

Remember the Crockpot Apple Butter I made this past summer and canned up?  Well, I decided to try using it for the holiday kolacky recipe and it is Fabulous!  Very simple to make and these are gobbled up in no time ... I am tempted to make more!  The dough used is simply 3 ounces of cream cheese, 1/2 cup butter, softened and 1 cup flour.  You can add a teaspoon of sugar to the mixture if you want a sweeter taste, but the Apple Butter is sweet enough and the dough offsets the overload of sweetness so it is definitely a winning combination.

I combined the three ingredients for the dough and chilled overnight in the refrigerator.  Then rolled it out on a floured surface and used a small glass to cut out the circles.  Took a spoonful of Apple Butter and added to each circle.

Closed up the dough and crimped it (some did open up during cooking) so make sure you have a good connection there.  Baked in the oven for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees until a toasty brown color and sprinkled with powdered sugar.  After they cooled I hid them in the pantry until Thanksgiving dessert time .... Good thinkin'!

We did have another visitor today out by the lake and what is interesting about this guy is ... it is actually a Juvenile Great Blue Heron.  I captured pictures of an adult earlier in the year and I noticed the difference after studying these pictures.

I consulted our bird book and it explains that the Juvenile looks much like the adult but has more brown than gray with a black crown and no plumes.    That is definitely this baby!

I hope to  enjoy watching this Baby as it matures into a Great Blue Heron!