Happy Friday, RMT’ers! I’ve had a very fun but very busy month, how about you? Whether it’s been egg dyeing adventures or school-related events, there’s been something keeping me busy at every turn. And I’ve not even started preparing for Spring Break 2013, which starts next week (!). Well, there’s always the weekend for that, right?!
Another thing that’s been keeping me busy this month has been Pinterest. Yes, I’ve finally succumbed to the site once and for all, and lucky me it’s given me a few fantastic ideas. Sure, most are way out-of-reach and more pretty than practical (remember, not super-crafty here!), but some actually are well within my version of reality.
To make Easter Carrots, start with some strawberries. Pick ones that are longer and skinnier than the others in the bunch. You will also need some orange candy food coloring (NOT regular food coloring, it will not work properly and could cause the chocolate to seize) and melted white chocolate or candy coating, such as CandiQuik.
For each berry you will be working with, take the leaves and gather them back gently away from the top. This is so you can fully dip each berry into the candy coating without getting it on the leaves; it also allows you to cover the whole of the fruit.
Melt the candy coating in a ramekin deep enough to submerge your berries. Next, drop enough of the orange candy dye into the melted coating to turn it a “carrot orange” color. Then dip strawberries until fully coated other than the leaves and place finished onto some wax paper. Finally, gently leaves back into place atop the berries to “hide” any exposed red spots (the wet chocolate also helps hold the leaves down in place). Don’t do more than 3-to-4 berries at a time on this step.
After dipping 3-to-4 berries, take a chopstick with more of the wet candy coating on the tip and lightly drag it back and forth across the wet berries to create “carrot lines.” If you accidentally press too hard and expose the berry, take some more wet candy coating on the tip of the chopstick and refill the spots. Don’t worry about a “pattern” as carrots don’t grow in a pattern either!
A bunch of “Easter Carrots”
Take these “Easter Carrots”, for example. I saw that post on Pinterest and it was one that I right away said, “Heck ANYONE can do that, even me!” And so I did. Given my love of all things CandiQuik, in addition to my love of foods that look like other foods (i.e., an “Easter Egg” of sorts), this was the perfect carrot to reel me into all things Pinterest.
Which of the two containers is orange candy dye, RMT’ers?
Notice the two containers now with their lid labels clearly marked. Let’s just say I wasn’t paying attention to the label when I started my “Easter Carrot” project.
Yes, I was quite committed that I indeed was using the orange candy coloring. Whoops! No matter as I turned that mistakenly made batch of yellow white-chocolate into “Oreo Eggs”! By the way, have you had these “Heads or Tails” Oreos? They are awesome!
Hmm… maybe a bit too bright for Easter (both the yellow and the sprinkle choice), but definitely spring-festive! Yes, some of those sprinkles are in fact from my St. Patrick’s Day food adventures.
My second batch of both Easter Carrots and Oreo Eggs. Happy Spring!
I also took the opportunity to use some CandiQuik-dyed-yellow-instead-of-orange (remember to read the labels on those dyes no matter what they look like, RMT’ers!) to dip some Oreos and finish those off with sprinkles for another fun, festive Easter treat! Very much like the St. Patrick’s Day cookies, this is a very easy way to put together a quick-sweet for any occasion from kids’ party to family brunch. They’re also easy enough to do for your child’s teacher or school staff for any holiday. Just pick a store-bought cookie you like (I prefer sandwich cookies), change the color of the white chocolate and the sprinkle mix to match the occasion, and Happy Whatever!
Enjoy the warmer days and brighter evenings, RMT’ers! I’ll be back mid-April with new posts after some much-earned Spring Break R&R of my own with C and T. Cheers, Slainte, and Prost!
Real Mom Time (RMT) 