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Make and Freeze Cranberry Toaster Pastries for Thanksgiving Morning


There is only time to cook one meal on Thanksgiving morning, and that meal is not breakfast. Cereal or store-bought danish is always an option, but if you want to serve something warm and seasonally appropriate, you can make these three-ingredient toaster pastries now, and keep them in the freezer until feeding time.

To make them, you just need pie dough (store-bought is fine), cranberry sauce (the whole berry, not jellied), and an egg. Roll out a single pie’s-worth of dough on a floured surface, then cut it into six equal-sized rectangles. (If you are very good at rolling out pie dough, you may be able to get eight.)

Scoop two teaspoons of sauce into the center of three (or four) of the rectangles, spread it around a little (leaving half an inch of space from the edge, and place the remaining dough on top of the sauced rectangles.

Crimp the edges with a fork to seal, poke three rows of holes with the tines of the same fork into the tops, and brush any excess flour off the tops of the pastries with a pastry brush. Beat a whole egg, then give the pastries a nice little wash. Repeat until you have as many pastries as you desire.

Bake the pastries in a 375-degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until they are a nice golden brown. Let them cool to room temperature, then stick the whole baking sheet in the freezer until they are completely frozen, ideally overnight. Transfer them to a freezer bag. When you are ready to feed them to the masses, place them in a toaster oven for a few minutes, until the edges and tops start to darken slightly. Serve with lots of coffee, then return your attention to the turkey.