Easter Egg Kaleidoscopes

Make a sugary (and edible!) table setting with Easter eggs featuring windows of tiny icing animals and candy blossoms. Royal icing performs double-duty in this recipe, acting as a "glue" to hold the sugar egg halves together as well as decorative décor around the edges of the windows.

Ingredients:

• 4 teaspoons cold water
• Red, green, or blue liquid food coloring
• 2 cups sugar 
• Royal Icing
• Decorations: icing Easter animals, tiny candy blossoms

Directions:

1. Stir together 4 teaspoons cold water and 2 drops of desired food coloring. Combine sugar and colored water in a zip-top plastic bag; blend well.
2. Pack sugar mixture firmly and evenly into 2 large half-egg molds; scrape off excess sugar mixture. Invert eggs onto a baking sheet; remove molds. Using a spatula, gently shave a flat edge on wide end of each egg to form a base.
3. Bake at 200° for 15 to 20 minutes or until eggs harden. Remove from oven, cool, and scoop excess sugar from center of each egg half with a spoon or paring knife, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Smooth edges with a spatula or spoon. Return to oven, and bake 10 to 15 minutes or until dried.
4. Scoop out center of 1 egg half gently, all the way through, with a spoon or paring knife to form an oval window, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Smooth window edges with a spatula or spoon.
5. Invert both egg halves onto a baking sheet. Pipe Royal Icing into egg half without window, and decorate Easter scene as desired.
6. Pipe Royal Icing around inside rim of window, and gently place on top of other half, forming a whole egg. Pipe a border around outside rim of window and seam of egg. Let stand at least 1 hour to dry. Store in an airtight container.
7. For horizontal Egg Kaleidoscopes: Prepare egg molds as directed, and invert onto a baking sheet, removing molds. Gently cut off 1 inch from narrow end of each egg half to form a window. Bake as directed. Scoop out center of each egg, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Decorate shells as desired. Pipe Royal Icing around inside rim of 1 shell, and gently place on top of remaining shell, forming a whole egg. Pipe a border around outside rim of window and seam of egg. Let stand at least 1 hour to dry.

Southern Living

MARCH 2002

Bunny Cookie Cupcakes

Kids will love decorating these simple bunny cupcakes. Start with boxed or grocery store cupcakes then decorate each with vanilla frosting, green coconut, and bunnie cookies. Kneading together refrigerated sugar cookie dough and flour make it easer to cut out the bunny shapes.

Ingredients:

• 1 16.5-oz. roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons egg-white powder (such as Just Whites)
• Red and green food coloring
• 1/2 cup each light and dark pink decorating sugars
• Large flower décors
• 2 cups chopped sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 16-oz. can vanilla frosting
• 24 cupcakes, any flavor

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Knead dough and flour together until smooth. Roll out to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out bunny shapes using a 3-inch cookie cutter. Transfer to baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Reroll scraps; continue cutting to get 24 bunnies.
3. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Make cookie frosting: Stir confectioners' sugar, egg-white powder and 3 Tbsp. warm water until smooth. (If frosting is too thick, stir in more water, 1 tsp. at a time.) Spoon 2 Tbsp. frosting into a ziplock bag. Tint remaining frosting light pink with a drop of red food coloring. Keep frosting covered to prevent drying.
4. Working on 1 cookie at a time, spread a thin layer of pink frosting on top. Sprinkle top of frosted cookie with light or dark pink decorating sugar to coat, shaking off excess. Snip a small corner from bag with white frosting. Pipe a few dots of white frosting on cookie; attach décors. Repeat with remaining cookies. Allow cookies to dry, 1 hour.
5. Place chopped coconut in a ziplock bag. Add a few drops of green food coloring; massage to tint coconut evenly. Put coconut in a shallow bowl. Spread vanilla frosting on cupcakes. Roll edges in green coconut. Press a cookie on top of each cupcake.

All You
MARCH 2010

Red Velvet Elf Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1. 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2. 1/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
3. 1 teaspoon baking soda
4. 1 teaspoon salt
5. 1 1/4 cups sugar
6. 1/2 cup butter, softened
7. 2 eggs
8. 1 bottle (1 oz) red food color
9. 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
10. 1 cup buttermilk
11. 1 container Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy cream cheese frosting
12. 12 large orange fruit gumdrops
13. 6 rolls chewy fruit snack, any flavor (from 4.5-oz box)
14. 12 small green gumdrops, cut in half
15. 12 small red gumdrops, cut in half
16. 48 semisweet chocolate chips
17. 1 pouch (7 oz) red cookie icing

Directions:

1. 1. Heat oven to 350°F. Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups. In small bowl, mix flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In large bowl, beat sugar, butter and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in food color and vanilla. On low speed, alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk just until blended. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
2. 2Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely. Set aside 1 tablespoon frosting; frost cupcakes with remaining frosting. Cut each orange gumdrop in half; shape into triangles. Place 2 pieces on each cupcake for ears. Cut each fruit snack into 4 triangles. Place 1 triangle on each cupcake for hat, folding pointed end over. With reserved frosting, attach 1 green gumdrop half to pointed end of hat. Use red gumdrops halves for nose and chocolate chips for eyes. Pipe red icing for mouth.

Source: BettyCrocker.com

Turkey Cookie Treats

Ingredients:

1    pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1egg

1   container (12 oz) Betty Crocker® Whipped chocolate frosting

Candy corn

1   tube (4.25 oz) Betty Crocker® yellow decorating icing

Miniature candy-coated semisweet chocolate baking bits

1   tube (0.68 oz) Betty Crocker® black decorating gel 

 

Directions: 

• 1 Heat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, stir cookie mix, butter and egg until soft dough forms. On ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart.
• 2 Bake 11 to 14 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
• 3 Frost and decorate 1 cookie at a time. After spreading frosting on cookie, add candy corn for feathers. Pipe yellow icing for beak and feet. Add baking bits for eyes; pipe black gel for center of each eye.

Expert Tips

Supply the baked cookies and the decorations, and let the kids decorate the turkeys for fun.

Source: BettyCrocker

Pilgrim Hat Cookies

Ingredients:

16 chocolate wafer cookies (such as Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers)
1 tube orange frosting with piping tips
16 small peanut butter cups 

Directions: 

1. Place cookies on work surface; squeeze a dime-size dot of frosting in center of each
2. Unwrap and invert peanut butter cups on frosting, pressing down gently
3. Using the round piping tip, pipe a "hat-band" with frosting around peanut butter cup and a square "buckle." Let frosting set before storing.

Tips & Techniques:

Can be made up to 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

 

Source: Pilgrim Hat Cookies - Woman's Day