Pastel Candy Thanksgiving Turkeys in Donuts

Turkey day is coming up this week in the US so that means I attempted cute turkey treats - again!

I found the most fun candy corn this year - pastel fruit cremes!  I loved the colors and knew I needed to do some fun treats with them so scooped up a bag and promptly forgot about it.

But luckily my kiddo found them and asked to try them.  

If you don't like regular candy corn - then you might like these.  Very fruity - still sweet but not like traditional candy corn.  I also had some white Lindor chocolates that someone gave me which I thought I could use for the turkey bodies (and I love it when I don't have to go buy more stuff for an idea!)

The pastel colors are so pretty!

And since I needed them to sit on top of something - I went with donuts.  Baked sweet potato donuts with cranberry glaze, which I thought was perfect for Thanksgiving.  Recipe linked for the donuts and the cranberry glaze is just some cranberry jelly mixed with a little milk and powdered sugar until you get a nice glaze-y consistency.

The rest of the turkey is a skittle chocolate, dab of yellow melted candy melt for beak, red sprinkle for waddler, and black edible marker for eyes.  Candy corn feathers are attached with white melted chocolate.

The turkeys are perched in little donut nests.  Do turkeys sit in nests? Well maybe not but they do look pretty cute all nestled in!

Well are the turkeys cute? Can you make a cute turkey? 

Thanksgiving is my fav holiday because it has all my fav foods.  Turkey, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie - all my comfort foods on one plate!  I will definitely be indulging this week! What's your favorite Turkey Day food? And let me know if you think this year's turkeys are cute!

Here are some of my past turkey attempts! Which is your fav??

Easy Candy Turkeys

Marshmallow Peeps Pilgrim Turkeys

Pilgrim and Turkey Cupcake Toppers

Candy Melt Candy Turkeys

No Bake Mini Cookie Pops

Marshmallow Candy Turkeys

Malt Ball Candy Turkey Toppers

Potted Plant Cake Bites (Baby Groot, Harry Potter Mandrakes, and Little Shop of Horrors Audrey II

Is everyone excited for Guadian's of the Galaxy Volume 2?? It opens on May 5th and its one we've definitely been waiting for since Vol 1.  Hoping the story and the soundtrack are as excellent as the first! 

So in prep I made some Baby Groot cake bites.  My kiddo reminded me that in Vol 2 Baby Groot has grown a bit and no longer needs his pot - but way too cute not to keep him in the pot for now.  

And since I was "planting" I thought there should also be some mandrakes - you know those potted plants that when you pull them out of the dirt will scream - and can be deadly! Make sure you wear your earmuffs if taking Herbology with Professor Sprout!

And one of the other "famous" potted plants is the blood craving plant Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors.  She starts out so little and cute until Seymour finds out she needs human blood to thrive - not so cute anymore!

My green thumb for growing real plants is pretty bad but this kind of planting I can handle!

Pots are made using a plastic candy mold (cordial cup but you can use any cup shaped mold you have) and candy melts.  Fill with cake bite mixture and top with crushed chocolate cookies or "edible moss".  I have a post on edible moss you can find here.  

Baby Groot is definitely my fav - as he seems like he's dancing away in his little cup.

And those mandrakes are most definitely super annoying!

Have a great week all!

Baby Groot, Harry Potter Mandrake, and Little Shop of Horrors Audrey II Cake Bites

by Michelle Clausen April 29 - 2017

Ingredients

• 1 cup of candy melts/wafers in (use whatever color you prefer) for flower pots
• 1 cup of chocolate chips or candy melts/wafers
• 1/4 cup red candy melts/wafers
• 10 Square pretzels and 10 pretzel sticks
• 10 Teddy Graham graham crackers
• Green leaf sprinkles 
• 10 black and 10 green jelly beans
• 1 cup of chocolate cake bite mixture (about 1 cup of crumbled cake mixed with 1 tablespoon of frosting)
• 1/2 cup of crushed chocolate wafer cookies

Instructions

1. Melt each candy wafers in a microwave safe bowl in 20 second intervals in microwave.  Coat mold on the outside to create pot shape (you may need to let candy harden and repeat to get a thick enough wall to your pot).  Refrigerate for 10 minutes or until candy is hardened.  Pop shape out of mold.
2. Add cake bite mix to each pot to fill almost to the top.  Sprinkle with crushed cookie as dirt.
3. For Groot: Cut the 2 ends of each black jelly bean - for eyes.  Melt chocolate in microwave safe bowl in 20 second intervals - add to plastic bag, snip and end and "pipe" chocolate onto pretzel.  Before chocolate hardens, add green leaf sprinkles to top randomly, add eyes eyes.  Let chocolate harden for 10 minutes.  Draw wood lines and mouth with a toothpick.  Pipe chocolate onto pretzel stick as Groot body.  Before it hardens add a head and let harden 10-15 minutes.
4. For Mandrakes: Melt chocolate in microwave safe bowl in 20 second intervals - add to plastic bag, snip and end and "pipe" chocolate over teddy graham into mandrake body shape.  Repeat with green candy wafers and add leaves on top.  Let chocolate/candy harden for 10 minutes.  Draw mandrake face with a toothpick.
5. For Audrey II: Melt green wafers in microwave safe bowl in 20 second intervals - add to plastic bag, snip and end and "pipe" 3 leaves for each Audrey.  Let harden for 5-10 minutes. Pipe one nickel shaped circle of melted green candy to parchment paper, add green jelly bean to center and add leaves around - use more melted candy as needed.  Melt red wafers and pipe on mouth.  Let harden for 10 minutes.
6. Insert Groot and mandrakes into pots (push into "dirt" to stand them up) and set Audrey's on top of dirt. 

Prep time: 1 and 1/2 hours Yield: about 30 cake bites (10 of each)

Edible Moss Covered Cake Bites with Mini Bunnies

Spring is finally here! In the Northeast we finally have temperatures in the 70s (today 80!) with nothing but sun in the 7 day forecast.  Yay!! The warm weather feels awesome.

I needed another spring treat and I've had this idea for cake bites rolled in edible moss on my to do list since last year.  

These came together pretty quickly because I started with some whoopie pies as the cake bite mixture.  They have the perfect amount of cake to icing ratio for cake bites too.  Crush them up, roll them into balls, dip them in melted chocolate, sprinkle with "moss" and make them more woodsy with a little bunny on top. 

I love these tiny chocolate bunnies!

The edible moss is only crushed graham crackers with a little green food gel added.

Add the miniature bunny after you sprinkle with moss but before the chocolate hardens.

Not only are they super cute for Spring or Easter (if you celebrate) but they are pretty yummy too.

I keep trying to talk my kiddos into a woodland themed birthday party - unfortunately they are not really into it.  Such a bummer because I totally am and these would be perfect little additions to a woodland themed party table.  My twins do turn 10 this month (10!!!) so I do have a couple of cakes to make.  Follow along with the birthday prep on my Instagram #maxandgretaturn10 - I'll be sharing the cakes and other prep this month!

Spring Cake Bites with Edible Moss and Mini Bunnies

by Michelle Clausen April 11 - 2017

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/2 cups of edible moss (crushed graham crackers tinted with 2-3 drops of green food gel)
• 4 large chocolate whoopie pies (or 6 cupcakes plus 1/2 cup of vanilla frosting)
• 1 and 1/2 cups of chocolate chips
• Bag of Russell Stover Chocolate Mini Bunnies (see link below)

Instructions

1. Crush whoopie pies until crumbly and frosting is mixed in well.  Roll into balls and refrigerate 10 minutes.
2. Melt chips in microwave safe bowl in 20 second intervals until melted.
3. Dip cake bites in chocolate tapping off excess.
4. Sprinkle with edible moss until there is a coating all over bite.
5. Top immediately with a mini bunny.
6. Let harden 15 minutes.

Prep time: 35 minutes Yield: about 18-20 cake bites

You may also like these treats with edible moss!

Terrarium Pudding Cups

Woodland Gnome Cupcakes

Rainbow Carrot Sugar Cookies

Happy April all! I've got an edible cookie craft this week for ya.  You all know my fascination with rainbow foods right?? Well I can't get enough of rainbow carrots.  I first ran into them at Trader Joes and had to buy a bunch.  I mean look how cool they look!

I made rainbow carrot cupcakes with them already so I felt the need to recreate them in some other sweet treat.  Like in cookie form.

So you get rainbow carrot shaped sugar cookies!

I used store-bought sugar cookie dough to speed up the process but tried to use all natural powders to tint the dough.  I've been on a healthy eating kick so have been trying to also avoid food gels - not totally but I do like to try to get cool vibrant colors without the added dyes.  

And I love the way these colors came out.  Carrot powder, red hibiscus powder, turmeric, and powdered freeze dried blueberries (I did add a bit of food gel to the last one because I wanted a deeper blue/purple color).  

Then just shape your carrots with the dough.  It's easy because they don't need to be perfect or all the same size.  That's what makes these multi colored carrots so fun.

I did freeze the cookies for about 15 minutes before baking as I was hoping they would hold their shape a bit more - but you can see they do flatten a bit.

But I still think they look pretty unique and carrot like - or maybe like peppers - rainbow peppers??

Melt some green candy wafers and attach some carrot "stems" aka edible Easter grass.  You can find this fun stuff in the Easter candy aisles of your favorite retail or drug store or Amazon of course!

The powders don't really add much flavor to the cookies but they do add some great natural color to the cookies.  Serve both this Easter - some rainbow carrots as a side dish and then some rainbow carrot (or pepper!) cookies for dessert!

Thanks for "hopping" by! And Happy Spring and almost Easter to those who celebrate!

Rainbow Carrot Sugar Cookies

by Michelle Clausen April 2 - 2017

Ingredients

• 1 roll of refrigerated sugar cookie dough (or your favorite sugar cookie recipe)
• 1/2 cup light green melting candy wafers/melts
• Green edible grass
• Powders for tinting dough (2 teaspoons of each hibiscus powder, powdered freeze dried blueberries, turmeric, carrot) - I did use a little purple food gel to get a deeper purple color

Instructions

1. Divide cookie dough into 5 even sections
2. Kneed powder colors into cookie dough.  For deeper colors you can add 1 drop of food gel.
3. Take sections of each color and roll into carrot shapes and lay onto cookie sheet. 
4. Freeze cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until cookies are just barely starting to brown.
6. Melt green candy wafers in microwave safe bowl in 10-15 second intervals.
7. Add some candy to top of each carrot and attach some of the edible grass as stems.
8. Let harden 10 minutes.

Prep time: 60 minutes Yield: about 30 carrot cookies

   

Holiday PEEPS Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

My edible crafting with marshmallow PEEPS continues! 

The fun people that work with the PEEPS brand were kind enough to send me some of their latest seasonal flavors! Sugar Plum Delight, Cinnamon Roll, Red Velvet, and Sugar Cookie. How fun are they?? 

Although they are already very festive, you can add some easy details and make them really ready for any holiday or Christmas party.

 Make them into wintery polar bears!

Or give them fun little Christmas hats!

Birds get cold too so add some tiny ear muffs!

Or turn them into reindeer - or go directly to the most famous reindeer of all

I usually add PEEPS to cupcakes (which would be A.DOR.A.BLE) but this time went with a Christmas-y chocolate chip cookie cake.

I mean who can resist a huge chocolate chip cookie during the holiday season??

The cookie cake disappeared in no time flat last nite!

Holiday PEEPS Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

by Michelle Clausen December 18 -2016

Ingredients

• PEEPS chicks in assorted flavors (I used red velvet, sugar plum, sugar cookie, and cinnamon roll)
• 1 roll of refrigerated cookie dough ( I used chocolate chip)
• Assorted sprinkles and candies for decorating: orange candy coated sunflower seeds, green m and m's, black and green dot sprinkles, holly and berry sprinkles, red-green-white candy corn, vanilla tootsie rolls, large red ball candy, 
• Purple candy melting wafers (cut in half)
• 1 cup of vanilla candy melting wafers
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips (or chocolate candy melting wafers) and green candy melting wafers
• Green and red food writers
• Vanilla buttercream (tint some red and green)
• More holiday sprinkles for cookie cake

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. For Rudolph Reindeer PEEPs: Melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and add to a freezer bag.  Snip an end and pipe antlers onto parchment paper.  Let harden 5-10 minutes before moving. Attach to cinnamon roll chick with melted chocolate.  Attach large red candy to with melted chocolate as nose.  Use melted vanilla candy and add detail around neck and add green sprinkle in center.
3.  For Polar Bear: Melt vanilla wafers in a microwave safe bowl and add to a freezer bag.  Snip an end and pipe ears and nose onto sugar cookie flavored chick.  Attach black buttons and nose detail with more melted candy. Soften vanilla tootsie roll for 7 seconds in microwave.  Roll out long strip for scarf.  Cut to size with clean kitchen shears.  Color with red and green food writers.  Wrap around chick as scarf.
4. For Bird with earmuffs: Attach green m and m's to side of chick with melted candy. Add white band with more melted vanilla candy melts.  Attach orange candy coated sunflower seed with more melted candy.  Attach 1/2 of purple candy melt wafer to side as wings.
5. For Red Velvet chick with hat: Melt green candy wafers in a microwave safe bowl and add to a freezer bag.  Snip an end and pipe small discs onto parchment paper.  Add christmas candy corn.  Attach small red ball sprinkle on top of hat with more melted candy. Let harden 5-10 minutes.  Use more melted candy and attach holy around neck of chick.  Add holy berries for detail.  Attach hat to top of chick with more melted candy.
6. For cookie cake: Add cookie dough to a 9X3 springform pan.  Spread cookie dough evenly.  Bake for 30 minutes or until top of cookie is just browned.  Let cool completely.
7. Remove cookie cake from pan and pipe buttercream around the outside top edge.  Add christmas or holiday sprinkles. 
8. Add decorated PEEPS on top.  Slice and serve.

Prep time: 60 mins Yield: 1 - 9 inch cookie cake

Winter Bird on Mini Chairs & Trees Cupcakes

Hey all! I'm trying to get myself into the holiday spirit since we're only about 2 weeks away from Christmas (and Hanukkah too!)

I've used jelly bean birds a bunch of times (scroll down to see more!) so I thought I'd try some little winter birds this time around.

I also love love LOVE mini things so thought they'd be cute on some mini chairs or trees.

The chairs are made from pretzel sticks "glued" together with some chocolate.

The chairs have a nice rustic look and are perfect perches for these little birdies!

I love Jelly Belly jelly beans because they have great colors and some look almost mottled and very much like bird colorings already.  Add some little details - super easy with some melted candy - and you get some cute little winter birds.  Don't forget to add simple eyes with a black food writer!

The trees are made from Hershey's Bells and Kisses stacked on top of each other.  Use whatever flavor you like since it gets covered in green melted candy wafers.  I used peppermint to go along with the winter theme.

Use your favorite cupcake recipe and white frosting as snow.

Put all of it together to make a fun little winter scene.

And don't worry about being perfect with you candy melt "piping"! Small details are needed and it doesn't take a lot of skill.  Once you practice on one or 2 birds it gets easy and the results are super cute!  

Making these cupcakes really did help to get me in the winter holiday spirit!

Thank you for swinging by and have an AMAZING weekend!  Take time to enjoy the moments and don't forget to spread some kindness in the world!

Little Birds on Pretzel Chairs and Tree Cupcake Toppers

by Michelle Clausen December 9 -2016

Ingredients

• Pretzel sticks
• 1 cup chocolate chips or chocolate candy melts 
• Assorted color jelly belly beans
• 1/4 cup of black, blue, red, and yellow candy melts
• Black food writer
• Hershey's Kisses and Hershey's Bells chocolate candy
• 1 cup of green candy melts
• Star sprinkles
• White non-pareil sprinkles
• 12 of your favorite cupcakes with white icing

Instructions:

1. To make chairs.  Break or cut pretzel sticks into sizes (2 long and 9 smaller pieces) 
2. Melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and add to a freezer bag.  Snip and end and add some chocolate to pretzel stick and attach as in picture to "glue" chair together.  Let harden at least 15 minutes before moving. Repeat for as many chairs as you need.
3. For birds: Select jelly beans colors you like.  I like Jelly Belly as they are a little mottled which make great birds! Melt each color wafer in a microwave safe bowl and add to a small freezer bag.  Snip and end and add some details to birds (beak, wings, top feathers) as in pictures or use your creativity!  Let harden at least 5-10 minutes or until candy is dry. 
4. For trees: Melt green wafers in a microwave safe bowl and add to a small freezer bag.  Snip and attach Kiss to Bell to make tree shape.  Add more candy to outside of chocolate to make green trees.  Before candy dries, add either bird or star sprinkle on top (candy must be starting to harden to easily attach or you can hold it in place until candy is firm enough to hold it in place).  Before candy dries also add some white non-pareil sprinkles on outside of trees.
5. Once chairs are ready, use more melted candy and attach birds to chairs randomly.
6. Add trees, birds, and chairs to iced cupcakes as toppers.

Prep time: 60 mins Yield: 12 cupcakes

Other Jelly Belly Birds treats you may like!

Bird on a Wire Graham Crackers

Mini Birdhouse Treats

Jelly Bean Bird Pretzel Snacks

Halloween Sugar Wafer Houses