Scuba Diving Easter Eggs

Here’s another project I found online that was just too cute to resist giving it a try. I saw these on Spoonful.com and fell in love with these little guys. You can’t help but smile when you look at them. What a perfect centerpiece for your Easter table setting! I used hard boiled eggs to make these, but if you plan on keeping them around for a while, you may want to blow out the eggs instead. If you don’t have all the items you need on hand, it’s easy to improvise. I couldn’t find colored rubber bands in a small enough size, so I used colored permanent markers to color the bands. Also, our local office supply store didn’t carry the 3/4-inch round labels for the face, so I used a 3/4-inch washer, traced around it with a black permanent marker on a regular mailing label and cut it out. Because of the small parts involved, I wouldn’t recommend working on these with little tots; but older kiddos will have a blast creating these. These are fun, different and EGG-stra special!
  

I had planned on using children's ponytail bands, but they wouldn't stay on the egg, so I switched to rubber bands.

Prepare egg dye according to package directions. Dye the bottom third of the egg. Allow to dry.

While the eggs are drying, you can put together the diving mask and face. The mask is nothing more than a water bottle cap.  Adhere a 3/4-inch round label to the center of the cap. 

Attach craft eyes, or just draw on eyes with a black permanent marker.

Again, I ended up using rubber bands instead of bands above (which wouldn't stay put on the egg).

When egg is dry, slip rubber band over the top of the egg, about a quarter of the way down. Glue the bottle cap on to the rubber band.

Trim a flexible straw by cutting 1-inch above and 2-inches below the flexible section. Bend it into a snorkel shape. Glue in place.

Cut flippers from self-adhesive foam (or use poster board). Go here for the template. 

Glue them to the egg, adhesive side of foam down. Let dry thoroughly. 

 While the flipper feet were drying, I propped little divers up against a tall (heavy) glass.

The adhesive side of foam will be used to stick the finished eggs to the display surface, or inside of a glass. 

SCUBA DIVING EASTER EGGS
Source: Spoonful.com (Family Fun Magazine)
Posted by: www.meldingmagic.com

ITEMS NEEDED: 

• Easter egg dye
• White eggs, hard-boiled or blown out
• 3/4-inch round white adhesive labels
• 1-inch water bottle caps (clear)
• Craft eyes, or just draw eyes with a black permanent marker
• Small rubber bands, preferably colored
• White glue, or glue gun (I used Super Glue)
• Flexible straws
• Self-adhesive foam, or poster board
• Small clear glasses, for display (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare egg dye according to package directions. Dye the bottom third of the egg. Allow to dry. 
2. While the eggs are drying, put together the diving mask and face. The mask is nothing more than a
    water bottle cap.  Adhere a 3/4-inch round label to the center of the cap. Attach craft eyes, or just
    draw on eyes with a black permanent marker.
3. When egg is dry, slip rubber band over the top of the egg, about a quarter of the way down. Glue the
    bottle cap on to the rubber band.
4. Trim a flexible straw but cutting 1-inch above and 2-inches below the flexible section. Bend it into a
    snorkel shape. Glue in place.
5. Cut flippers from self-adhesive foam (or use poster board). Go here for the template. Glue them to
    the egg, adhesive side of foam down. Let dry thoroughly. The adhesive side of foam will be used to
    stick the finished eggs to the display surface, or inside of a glass.

Southwestern Deviled Eggs

Along with Easter comes an abundance of hard boiled eggs. You’ve dyed, decorated and hunted. How do you make the most of leftover Easter eggs? What always comes to mind first for me is deviled eggs. A popular party appetizer in the 50s and 60s, deviled eggs still have retro appeal today. Today you are more apt to see them at BBQs and brunches (more casual gatherings), but their popularity re-emerges during the Easter holiday. They are quick and easy to prepare, convenient (because they are a finger food), and always a crowd pleaser. But, just because you are serving a vintage canapé doesn’t mean you have to use a traditional recipe. By adding ingredients like salsa, green onion, cumin and Cheddar cheese, you can give these party staples a trendier spin. Now you have an “incredible, edible egg.” But, you better make sure you color enough eggs, because these will disappear fast.

Finely chop green onions. If Cheddar cheese shreds are on the large side (like mine are in the above pic), chop it a little more. 

Try to use the “chunkiest” salsa you can get. If the salsa has too much liquid in it, your egg filling can end up loose and not stiff enough to stuff eggs. Drain off any excess liquid from salsa before adding to yolk mixture. (If, however, your finished filling still ends up looser than you would like, you can still firm it by refrigerating it for a half hour or longer.)

Even though this recipe calls for 6 hard boiled eggs, I always boil 7 eggs. During the boiling process, I often end up with an egg that cracks in the water. I usually dispose of the whites of the 7th egg, but I do add the yolk of that additional egg to the filling mixture.

Over the years, I’ve had countless failures with the “simple” task of hard boiling an egg. I would overcook them, resulting in rubbery whites and gray shadowed yolks, or I’d mutilate the overall shape and appearance of the egg in my destructive attempts to remove the unyielding shell. After much trial and error, this method works for me 100% of the time. 

Place eggs in pot of cold water. Add 1 teaspoon salt to the water. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Reduce temperature to medium. Continue to cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 12 minutes. (Other sources say after the water boils to immediately remove pot from heat, cover, and let stand for 12 to 15 minutes. I’ve found that this method is not always fool-proof; that’s why I give it an additional 5 minutes on lower heat. It ensures the egg is hard boiled, yet you still get a perfect yellow colored yolk and non-rubbery white, each and “every” time.) 

Drain hot water from pot and continue to add cold water to pot until water is completely cool. Add a generous amount of ice cubes to the pot and let sit for about 5 minutes, until the egg no longer has any warmth to it. The colder the egg is, the easier the shell will be to remove (and less likely to stick to the egg white). 

Peel eggs and halve lengthwise. Remove yolks and place in a small bow. 

Mash yolks with a fork. Add mayonnaise, Cheddar cheese, salsa (well drained), sour cream, green onion and cumin. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix it all up. I usually use a hand mixer to do this, but that's a "personal" preference, as Mike likes a "creamier" filling (with no lumps).

Fill egg whites evenly with yolk mixture. Garnish with additional green onions, if desired. Store, covered, in refrigerator. 

SOUTHWESTERN DEVILED EGGS
Source: Cooking with Paula Deen, Mar/Apr 2006
Posted by: www.meldingmagic.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 7 large eggs, hard boiled and peeled* (See note below)
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 3 Tablespoons finely shredded Cheddar cheese
• 2 Tablespoons chunky salsa, drained
• 1-1/2 Tablespoons sour cream
• 1 Tablespoon finely chopped green onion
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Additional green onions, for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Halve eggs lengthwise. Remove yolks and place in a small bowl.
2. Mash yolks with a fork. Stir in mayonnaise, Cheddar cheese, salsa, sour cream, green onion and
    cumin. Add salt and pepper to taste. (Use fork or hand mixer to blend, depending on consistency you
    want.)
3. Fill egg whites evenly with yolk mixture. Garnish with additional green onions, if desired. Store in
    refrigerator.

Yields: 12 servings

*Note:  You only need 6 hard boiled eggs (not 7). The extra egg will allow for breakage of 1 during the boiling process. Make use of the 7th yolk by adding to filling mixture, but discard of the egg white on extra egg. This will also allow you to put more filling in the eggs.

Peeps Cookies

It totally amazes me when I see all these gorgeous cookie creations on-line. When it comes to cookie decorating, I’m a total novice….I mean Cookie Decorating Basics 101. I can handle a little drizzle over the top, but beyond that, I haven’t a clue what I’m doing. When I saw these Peeps Cookies on Sweet Sugar Belle, I thought to myself, “Oh, finally, something I think I can handle.” Not quite. Even what seems like the simplest of patterns has a “lot” of work going on behind the scenes. The sugar cookies have to be uniformly sized with precision timing on the baking. The icing, that’s a whole other chapter (or two, or even three). Although I only needed to make one basic batch of royal icing, the icing had to be separated out in smaller portions, colored, then thinned down to a piping consistency, and finally thinned down to a flooding consistency. (There’s actually, yet another, consistency often used: 20-second icing, which is for adding dimension. Fortunately, that wasn’t required for this particular design.) And, last, but not least, you have to work fast. If you work too slowly, especially, with the piping, you’ll get uneven outlining results and the icing will firm and thicken before you are finished. There’s a great deal of skill, patience and artistry involved. My admiration for cookie decorators has grown in leaps and bounds after my first attempt this weekend.  I’m not saying that my first attempt will be my last, but knowing how cumbersome the preparation is, I’ll make sure I have plenty of time, have all the right equipment, and will go into it expecting numerous failures. This is a process that requires a lot of trial and error before you can perfect it. The most important ingredient I left off this recipe is “wine,” not for the cookies, for you, because you are going to need it after completing this project (unless you have years of decorating experience under your belt)!

Rather than jump around from blog to blog, comparing numerous basics, I chose to stick with Sweet Sugar Belle’s instructions for every step of the process. Her instructions were thorough, precise, and covered every aspect required for completion. I didn’t stray from her recipes or any of her steps. So, if my instructions seem unclear (which I’m sure they will, as I didn’t have enough time to create and take pictures simultaneously), please refer to Sweet Sugar Belle’s blog for better clarification. 

First, I made a batch of sugar cookies. Again, I chose to stick with Sweet Sugar Belle’s recipe. It doesn’t require refrigeration after dough preparation and has worked consistently for her after years of experience. So, why mess with a sure thing? Experience is the best teacher. 

Preheat oven to 400° F. Line cookie pan(s) with parchment paper, or silpat.

In stand mixer, with paddle attachment, cream together softened butter and confectioner’s sugar. Don’t take shortcuts. What I mean by that is don’t try to soften the butter in the microwave. It will change the texture of the dough. Wait for the butter to reach room temperature (2 to 3 hours); or cut into small pieces and wait 30 to 45 minutes. 

 

Crack the egg in a separate bowl (don’t whisk), and add the flavoring extract. 

Add that to the creamed butter sugar mixture. Mix until the egg is completely incorporated. 

In separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. 

Gradually add to the creamed mixture. The dough is done when most of it sticks to the paddle, has some give to it, but is not sticky on your fingers. The dough will need to rest a little after mixing to firm up a bit (1 to 2 minutes should suffice).

The Peeps cookie cutters are available on the Peeps website, Wilton and other on-line sites. I bought mine through eBay (to save a little cash).

Roll dough out on parchment paper to about 1/4 of an inch thick. Use flour for dusting, as necessary. Apparently there are “sizers” available for your rolling pin (told you I was a rookie). Not having sizers, Mike made me two flat dowels, each 1/4-inch in height, so I could roll over the dowels with my rolling pin to ensure a uniform cookie height of 1/4-inch. Pic below should give you an idea. (Again, my instructions are not as thorough as Sweet Sugar Belle’s. She covers everything in more detail in different areas of her blog.)

Use cookie cutter to cut dough shapes. Try to get as many Peeps as possible on rolled dough. Re-roll dough as necessary to get as many cookies as possible. 

Bake at 400° for 7 to 8 minutes. If you’re unsure of your oven’s precise temp, use an oven thermometer. If cookies start to brown, you’ve kept them in too long. This is a trial and error process and precision is key to perfect results. The cookies will "spread" a little, but not a lot. You'll still be able to achieve desired cookie cutter shape.

Remove cookies from oven when done and “let sit” on cookie sheet for about 4 hours before removing. Cookies are very fragile and will break if touched too early. (So if you’re making more than 2 trays of cookies, make sure you have ample cookie pans available.)

After cookies have rested about 4 hours, transfer to an air-tight container. Do NOT attempt to decorate until “at least” the next day. Oil from the cookies will leach into the icing if you try to decorate on the same day. Day-old cookies are less likely to leach back.

Now, if you think that was cumbersome, get ready for day 2! I apologize, but from this point on, you won't get as many "step by step" photos as I usually provide. It was too difficult to take pictures during this portion of prep.
 

The bag of powdered sugar in photo is 7 pounds (as I buy in bulk), but I weighed out 2 pounds for recipe.

Tip: If you are looking for a "quicker," easier icing method: purchase some decorating icing, with tips already attached. Use that to ice your cookies, then just sprinkle with sanding sugar.

Make sure your stand mixer equipment is clean, dry and oil-free. Oil is the worst enemy of Royal Icing. You will be using the paddle attachment. Again, I am going by Sweet Belle’s learning experience. She recommends a paddle over the whisk attachment. 

Begin by stirring the extract (extract must be oil free) into “half” of the water, in small separate bowl. Pour the balance of the water into a spray bottle. This is another good tip provided. When you are close to getting the right consistency on the icing, spritzing the water into the icing (instead of pouring) helps to eliminate the failure of adding too much water and having to start over again.

Gently mix the sugar and meringue powders in bowl of stand mixer. Pre-sifting the sugar is not necessary. I used a wooden spoon rather the paddle attachment, as even at the lowest speed, I would have gotten a “powder” dust cloud all over my kitchen if I tried to mix with stand mixer.

With the mixer on its lowest setting, slowly add the water/flavoring mixture to the dry ingredients. The icing will become thick and lumpy as water is added.

Using the remaining water in the spray bottle, continue to spritz water until the mixture reaches a thick, honey-like consistency. Increase mixer speed to medium and whip 2 to 4 minutes, until icing is thick and fluffy. Stop when icing is thin enough to form a soft peak. 

Here's where I started getting frazzled, had time constraints, and started scrimping on photos. Depending on the different colors you will need for cookie decorations, portion out your icing into measuring cups or small bowls. Add desired amount of food coloring until you achieve the color you are looking for. If icing starts to thicken during this process, just spritz with additional water and stir to mix.
 
I’m not going to go into all the specifics on achieving piping and flooding consistency on the colored icing. Sweet Belle does it so much better than I can. The first step is take that bowl of colored icing, spritz it with water until it is “piping” consistency. It needs to be thin enough to flow through a #2 decorating icing tip without breaking up when piping, but not so thin that it will overflow onto the edges of the cookie. You will be outlining the shape of the cookie, and the piping will work as a “dam” to contain the flooding icing later. 

Transfer some of the icing into icing bag with #2 tip. Working in one steady, continuous movement, outline the cookies. When cookies are outlined with piping icing, you are ready to flood.

Go back to remaining colored icing in bowl. Again with spray bottle, spritz the colored icing with water, until you achieve a “flooding” consistency. This will be thinner than a piping consistency, but not so thin that it will “flow” over the outline you just created. If you are a novice, like me, you’ll probably mess up on a few cookies along the way, until you are able to determine the consistencies that work best.

Transfer this thinner icing into a decorator bag with #2 tip. Flood the cookies (fill the area of the cookie within the outline) with the icing. Using a small spatula, spread the icing carefully across the cookie, without letting it go over the “piping dam.” By using a spatula to spread the icing, you will also be able to eliminate air bubbles on the finished iced cookie. Work quickly, as you will need the flooded icing to still be wet enough for the sanding sugar to adhere to.

Over wax paper, sprinkle sanding sugar over top of cookie. Let set for a few minutes to adhere to icing, before gently shaking off excess. The leftover sanding sugar on the wax paper can be funneled back into the container, for less waste of the sugar.

If using more than one color for your cookies, you will have to repeat above steps – coloring, piping and flooding for each color you use in your design. When all cookies have been iced and decorated with icing sugar; wait about 30 minutes or so, before adding facial features.

Still using original batch of Royal Icing, scoop out enough to use for putting facial features on all of your cookies. Transfer to a small bowl, spritz with enough water to get a consistency somewhere between piping and flooding. Add enough food coloring to try to achieve a dark brown (or even black) color. This will be for the eyes and nose. Transfer the icing to a pastry bag, again using a #2 decorating tip. Quickly add eyes and nose to each of the Peeps cookies. I had a difficult time trying to get the icing “eyes” to adhere to the sanding sugar. I had to use a toothpick to “burrow” out the area for the facial features, then pipe in the icing in those burrows for it to stay put.

Let cookies rest for a while, so icing facial features have time to fully dry. After decorated, cookies should be consumed within 2 to 3 days (so don’t ice until you are ready to distribute). Cookies without icing can be stored for much longer (up to a week) without losing their soft texture. Freezing not recommended. In the meantime, have fun cleaning up the “tornado” mess that all this left behind!

When icing facial features are fully dry, carefully store the cookies in air-tight containers. Because of the sanding sugar, you may have to store in different containers (one for each color cookie).

I only ended up with about 16 cookies out of this whole process. That was more than what we needed, and ample enough to give me a new “learning” experience in the kitchen. Now grab that glass of wine (I talked about above) and rejoice!!!!! Mission accomplished.

There are numerous other tips and tricks available over at Sweet Sugar Belle.




BASIC SUGAR COOKIE
Source: Sweet Sugar Belle
Posted by: www.meldingmagic.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temp
• 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 to 3 teaspoons flavoring extract (I used 2-1/2 teaspoons Almond extract)
• 2-1/2 to 2-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt (or less if your prefer)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Line cookie pan(s) with parchment paper, or silpat.
2. In stand mixer, with paddle attachment, cream together softened butter and confectioner’s sugar.
3. Crack the egg in a separate bowl (don’t whisk), and add the flavoring extract.
4. Add that to the creamed butter sugar mixture. Mix until the egg is completely incorporated.
5. In separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
6. Gradually add to the creamed mixture. The dough is done when most of it sticks to the paddle, has
    some give to it, but is not sticky on your fingers. The dough will need to rest a little after mixing to firm
    up a bit (1 to 2 minutes should suffice).
7. Roll dough out on parchment paper to about 1/4 of an inch thick. Use flour for dusting, as necessary.
    Use cookie cutter to cut dough shapes. Re-roll dough as necessary to get as many cookies as possible.
8. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes.
9. Remove cookies from oven when done and “let sit” on cookie sheet for about 4 hours before
    removing. Cookies are very fragile and will break if touched too early. After cookies have rested about
    4 hours, transfer to an air-tight container. Do NOT attempt to decorate until “at least” the next day.
    Oil from the cookies will leach into the icing if you try to decorate on the same day. Day-old cookies
    are less likely to leach back.




ROYAL ICING & DECORATING INSTRUCTIONS
Source: Sweet Sugar Belle
Posted by: www.meldingmagic.com

Tip: If you are looking for a "quicker," easier icing method: purchase some decorating icing, with tips already attached. Use that to ice your cookies, then just sprinkle with sanding sugar.


INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pounds (1 standard size bag) powdered sugar
• 5 Tablespoons meringue powder
• 2 to 3 teaspoons oil-free extract (I used 2 teaspoons vanilla and 1 teaspoon almond extract)
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup warm water
• Sanding sugar, assorted colors of your choice

 DIRECTIONS:

1.   In small bowl, or measuring cup, stir the extract flavoring into half of the water. Pour remaining water
      in spray bottle to add gradually later in the process.
2.   Gently mix the sugar and meringue powders in bowl of stand mixer. Pre-sifting the sugar is not
      necessary.
3.   With the mixer on its lowest setting, slowly add the water/flavoring mixture to the dry ingredients.
      The icing will become thick and lumpy as water is added.
4.   Using the remaining water in the spray bottle, continue to spritz water until the mixture reaches a
      thick, honey-like consistency. Increase mixer speed to medium and whip 2 to 4 minutes, until icing is
      thick and fluffy. Stop when icing is thin enough to form a soft peak.
5.   Depending on the different colors you will need for cookie decorations, portion out your icing into
      measuring cups or small bowls. Add desired amount of food coloring until you achieve the color you
      are looking for. The first step is take that bowl of colored icing, spritz it with water until it is “piping”
      consistency. It needs to be thin enough to flow through a #2 decorating icing tip without breaking up
      when piping, but not so thin that it will overflow onto the edges of the cookie. You will be outlining
      the shape of the cookie, and the piping will work as a “dam” to contain the flooding icing later.
      Transfer some of the icing into icing bag with #2 tip. Working in one steady, continuous movement,
      outline the cookies. When cookies are outlined with piping icing, you are ready to flood.
6.   Go back to remaining colored icing in bowl. Again with spray bottle, spritz the colored icing with
      water, until you achieve a “flooding” consistency. This will be thinner than a piping consistency, but
      not so thin that it will “flow” over the outline you just created.
7.   Transfer this thinner icing into a decorator bag with #2 tip. Flood the cookies (fill the area of the
      cookie within the outline) with the icing. Using a small spatula, spread the icing carefully across the
      cookie, without letting it go over the “piping dam.”
8.   Over wax paper, sprinkle sanding sugar over top of cookie. Let set for a few minutes to adhere to
      icing, before gently shaking off excess.
9.   If using more than one color for your cookies, you will have to repeat above steps – coloring, piping
      and flooding for each color you use in your design. When all cookies have been iced and decorated
      with icing sugar; wait about 30 minutes or so, before adding facial features.
10. Still using original batch of Royal Icing, scoop out enough to use for putting facial features on all of
      your cookies. Transfer to a small bowl, spritz with enough water to get a consistency somewhere
      between piping and flooding. Add enough food coloring to try to achieve a dark brown (or even
      black) color. This will be for the eyes and nose. Transfer the icing to a pastry bag, again using a #2
      decorating tip. Quickly add eyes and nose to each of the Peeps cookies.
11.  Let cookies rest for a while, so icing facial features have time to fully dry. After decorated, cookies
      should be consumed within 2 to 3 days (so don’t ice until you are ready to distribute). Cookies
      without icing can be stored for much longer (up to a week) without losing their soft texture. Freezing
      not recommended. When icing facial features are fully dry, carefully store the cookies in air-tight
      containers. Because of the sanding sugar, you may have to store in different containers (one for each
      color cookie).

Peeps S'mores Packages

Here’s another fun “kitchen” craft for Easter. If you’re planning on making on those adorable Easter Bunny Race Cars I posted yesterday, you will probably have some Peeps® leftover. Here’s a clever way to use them up. Combine Peeps® with graham crackers and chocolate; and you have Peeps® S’mores (a.k.a. Smeeps.) Package up these ingredients with a cute little instruction label and you have colorful and festive Easter basket fillers, or treat bags for your Easter Egg Hunt. These are so quick and easy to throw together (I made about a dozen in less than 5 minutes) and are as much fun to give as they are to receive! But the most rewarding part of all is the look of sheer delight and surprise when the little ones watch the “magic” happen in the microwave after assembling these treats. Just make sure you have extra packages on-hand, because, after devouring one, your kids will be asking, “Can I have s’more?”

I used 4x6-inch cellophane bags (with self-sealing closure) for the packaging, which you should be able to get at any office supply store (I bought mine at Amazon). Alternatively, you can also use small Zip-Lock bags, but you may want to design a tag to go across the top to hide the zip closure.

When I placed my order for the bags, I also ordered labels. The oval shaped ones seemed perfect for Easter (plus I knew I could find other uses for them later).

Avery.com offers online design and printing for any label size, with lots of designs to choose from, which are all customizable. Just type in the label number, then select the design, then edit and customize to make it your own. When you’re done designing, save the design, and you’re ready to print. 

The rest is easy. Just lay out your supplies and ingredients and you’re ready to go. Put a Peeps® in the bag, followed by 2 graham crackers, followed by a snack-size chocolate bar. Seal the bag on the closure side. I then folded down the top of the bag (for a tighter fit, so the crackers wouldn’t jiggle around and crumble), then sealed the back with the printed label. Done!

PEEPS® S’MORES PACKAGES
Source:  Confetti by Lexi
Posted by: www.meldingmagic.com

INGREDIENTS:

• Peeps® bunnies or chicks
• Graham Crackers
• Snack-size chocolate bars
• Labels
• 4x6-inch cellophane bags (with self-closure)

DIRECTIONS:
 
1. Place Peeps® in bag.
2. Place 2 graham crackers in bag.
3. Place snack-size chocolate bar in bag.
4. Seal bag closure.
5. Place instruction label on back.