As a little girl, I have fond memories of crafting and baking with my mom. I love re-creating some of those memories with my son. This Sunday, we’ll be “hunting” for the eggs we’ve colored this week and finishing off the gluten, dairy, and egg-free cupcakes we made.
I’m not the most creative mom around, so I have to get my recipes and projects online. Earlier this year, I was re-introduced to McCormick, a company that specializes in seasonings, spices, herbs, and baking extracts. Their website is an amazing resource for recipes and activities, and often changes with upcoming holidays and seasons. Right now, you’ll find an Easter Workshop which features ideas, tips, and recipes for cooking, decorating and playing.
Earlier this week, my son and I dyed Easter eggs with their food coloring and made Flower Cupcakes. To complete some of their projects, they sent me this “Make Food Fun” kit:
The first activity we tackled was the cupcake recipe. Here it is for reference:
Colored sprinkles, sugar or coconut (recipe follows)
30 large marshmallows
1 container (16 ounces) vanilla frosting
McCormick® Assorted Food Colors and Egg Dye or McCormick® Assorted NEON! Food Colors and Egg Dye
24 yellow cupcakes baked in white paper liners
1 cup green-colored sugar (recipe follows)
24 yellow spice gumdrops
1. Place colored sprinkles, sugar or coconut in small bowl. Cut several marshmallows crosswise into 4 slices with sharp scissors. Press 1 of the cut side of each marshmallow piece into colored sprinkles to coat. Place coated side up on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining marshmallows and sprinkles to makes 120 marshmallow petals. (For variety, use different colored sprinkles, sugar and coconut to decorate the marshmallow petals.)
2. Tint the frosting bright green, using 1/2 teaspoon green Food Color and 4 drops blue Food Color. Place the green-colored sugar in a shallow bowl. Spread top of each cupcake with green frosting. Roll the edge of each cupcake in colored sugar.
3. Arrange 5 marshmallow petals on top of each cupcake to resemble a flower, pressing the marshmallows into the frosting. Place a gumdrop in the center of the cupcake to complete the flower.
Colored Sprinkles, Sugar or Coconut: Place white sprinkles or nonpareils, white decorating sugar or coconut in large resealable plastic bag. Add Food Color. (For 1 cup sprinkles, add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Food Color. For 1 cup sugar, add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon Food Color. For 1 cup coconut, add 1/4 teaspoon Food Color.) Seal bag. Knead sprinkles, sugar or coconut until the color is evenly distributed. (Add additional drops of Food Color for darker shade.) Spread colored sprinkles, sugar or coconut on large rimmed baking sheet. Let stand 15 to 30 minutes or until dried. Store in airtight container.
Once we baked our gluten, dairy, egg-free cupcakes, we started decorating:
I tinted the frosting and the decorating sugar green
Then I dyed the party decoratifs red and used them to top the marshmallows I cut in quarters. I finished them off with a gumdrop center.
Next up…dying eggs!
Makes 12 colored eggs.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
1 dozen large eggs
McCormick® Assorted Food Colors and Egg Dye or McCormick® Assorted NEON! Food Colors and Egg Dye
Vinegar
1. Gently place eggs in single layer in large saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover eggs by 1 inch. Cover. Bring just to boil on high heat. Remove from heat. Let stand 15 minutes. (Adjust time up or down by 3 minutes for each size larger or smaller.)
2. Pour off hot water and rapidly cool eggs by running them under cold water (or place in ice water) until completely cooled.
3. Mix 1/2 cup boiling water, 1 teaspoon vinegar and 10 to 20 drops food color in a cup to achieve desired colors. Repeat for each color. Or, use our Color Creator for more colors. Dip hard-cooked eggs in dye for about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon, wire egg holder or tongs to add and remove eggs from dye. Allow eggs to dry.
Decorating Ideas:
Two-toned eggs: Dip top half of hard-cooked egg in 1 color and the bottom half in another. Or, dip each half of the egg in the dye for different lengths of time, creating different shades of the same color.
Painted eggs: Mix 20 drops food color and 1/2 teaspoon vinegar in small container. Paint hard-cooked eggs with a small paintbrush or cotton swab. Go wild with stripes, polka dots and zigzags.
Designed eggs: Before dyeing, place rubber bands, stickers such as chicks, rabbits, flowers or other springtime favorites, or paper reinforcements on the eggs to create the design of choice. Once dry, remove the rubber bands, etc., to view the design.
Personalized eggs: Write initials, names or draw pictures on the egg with a white or light colored crayon before dyeing.
Marbleized eggs: Mix 1/4 cup boiling water, 1 teaspoon vinegar, 1/8 teaspoon oil and 4 to 8 drops food color in shallow bowl. Gently roll egg in the mixture for 30 seconds, or until the egg is the desired shade. Transfer the egg to a second color mixture, and repeat the process. Allow the egg to dry completely. Wipe away excess oil with a paper towel.
Tie-dyed eggs: Place several eggs in a colander in the kitchen sink. Splash eggs with vinegar. Drop yellow food color onto eggs. Gently shake the colander for a few seconds to help the color spread. Let stand 30 seconds. Repeat with 1 or 2 additional food colors. After the final stand time, lightly rinse eggs with water. Drain completely. Allow eggs to dry.
Dying eggs was super easy (and relatively quick). I recommend the Neon Food and Egg Dye for vibrant colors
I have not even begun to show you all of the Easter fun you can find on the McCormick website. I recommend watching the videos for some of their projects to motivate and inspire you to try some of them.
I did not receive compensation for this post. Product samples were received to facilitate this review.
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Cute flower cupcake. Great idea to use marshmallows.
Looks like y’all had a lot of fun!