Neckties For Father’s Day

Is your dad a necktie kind of guy? Ahh, don’t give him that same ole tie in a box routine! Check out our free Necktie Lamp project, a cute idea for necktie-shaped cookies, and a free recipe for a necktie-embellished pie that your favorite father’s sure to love:

All Tied Up Lamp
Be eco-conscious and create a one-of-a-kind lamp for dad’s desk with vintage neckties or with some he doesn’t wear anymore!

You’ll need:

Cup-style trophy
neckties
lampshade
candle lamp
trim
household cement
hot glue gun & glue sticks

Instructions:

1. Use household cement to glue candle lamp into trophy.
2. Measure side of shade from top to bottom. Cut a piece from large end of each tie 1-1/2" longer than determined measurement.
3. With tie points extending past bottom of edge of shade and side edges overlapping slightly, glue tie pieces around shade. Trim tie pieces even with top edge of shade.
4. Cut a length of trim to fit around top edge of shade; glue in place.
5. Attach shade to lamp.

Nutty Neckties
Bake dad a batch of Nutty Neckties. Our recipe can be found in our book, Celebrating Cookies, if you want the real thing, but if you exercise your creativity, you can probably achieve the same necktie idea from any sturdy cookie dough intended for cutout cookies. (And if it was me making these, I’d just buy tubes of frosting and let the kids do the decorating for some fun family time!)

Necktie Pie
For a gift that says “Dad” in a big way, bake hime a luscious Cherry-Amaretto Pie. It’s made with dried cherries, laced with almond-flavored liqueur, and decorated with an easy to create shirt and tie! (Hint: If you’re pastry-challenged like me, just get a couple of boxes of the pre-made pie crusts from the grocery store dairy case...)

CHERRY-AMARETTO PIE

FILLING
2 cups dried cherries (available at gourmet food stores)
1 cup amaretto
1-1/3 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

CRUST
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup cold water

PASTRY DECORATIONS
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 cup cold water

GLAZE
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
Red liquid food coloring

For filling, combine cherries and amaretto in a small bowl. Cover and set aside 8 hours or overnight.

Reserving 2 tablespoons amaretto, drain cherries. In a large bowl, combine cherries, reserved amaretto, sugar, cornstarch, butter, and almond extract; stir until well blended.

For crust, stir together flour and salt in a medium bowl. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle with water; mix until a soft dough forms. Divide dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, use a floured rolling pin to roll out one-half of dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Transfer to an ungreased 9-inch pie plate and use a sharp knife to trim edge of dough. For top crust, roll out remaining dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Use a sharp knife to cut an 11-inch diameter circle. Spoon filling into crust. Place top crust over filling. Fold edge of top crust under edge of bottom crust. Pinch edges together to seal. Cover and set aside.

For pastry decorations, refer to photo to draw pocket, collar, and tie onto tracing paper; cut out. Follow directions for crust to mix and roll out dough. Place patterns on dough and use a sharp knife to cut out. Use a sharp knife to score detail lines on pocket, collar, and tie. Using dough scraps, shape small pieces of dough to resemble collar buttons. Cover and set aside.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. For glaze, stir egg and milk together in a small bowl until well blended. Brush egg mixture evenly over top crust. Place shirt dough pieces on top crust. Place buttons on collar. Brush egg mixture over shirt dough pieces. Use a small paintbrush and red food coloring to paint diagonal stripes on tie. Cut slits in top of pie along edges of tie and pocket. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings