easter

Dying Easter Eggs with Food!

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So Liam, my 5 year old, saw this on Creative Galaxy which is a cute kids show on Amazon Prime. Of course we had to try it! We used coffee, turmeric, onion skin, frozen spinach and beet juice. It’s a great science experiment to get kids involved and to show them what else foods can do! We had so much fun!

The only thing is it takes a lot longer to dye the eggs than traditional food coloring. We actually let them soak for an entire movie length, so about 2 hours. You can let them soak for even longer to get more color if you want, just know ahead of time that it’s a long process. But afterwards you can let your kids decorate them! Liam enjoyed writing on them with crayons and putting stickers on. So, if you are interested in this fun craft, here is what you need to do and what you’ll need…

Notes: Beforehand we wrote on some of the eggs with a white crayon. We also wrapped an egg with a rubber band to get different effects.

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What you will need:

Hard boiled white eggs
Vinegar
Glass or plastic cups
Cookie sheet for drying (or you can just use your egg carton)
Food for coloring; we used brewed coffee, 3 tablespoons of turmeric, beet juice from canned beets, frozen spinach and the skin of a sweet onion.

Spinach: boiled for an hour and then drained into a colander over a glass cup
Onion: boiled for an hour and then drained into a colander over a glass cup
Coffee: brewed from the morning pot
Turmeric: 3 tablespoons stirred into a cup of water and then boiled in the microwave
Beets: easiest one, I just opened a can of beets and poured all the water into a glass cup.

Once you have all your colors in their cups, pour in 1 tablespoon of vinegar into each. Now you are ready to dye your eggs! Carefully drop an egg into each color and let soak until they have reached the desired color.

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Above are the 5 eggs we did. Starting from the top and going clockwise is coffee, spinach, onion skin, beet juice, and turmeric.

Here’s Liam having so much fun!

And the final, finished product 🙂

Have fun and Happy Easter!

Sugar Cookie Easter Egg Nests

It’s barely 7 am on a Saturday morning and I’m drinking coffee and eating Cadbury mini eggs. Now that’s what I call MOM LIFE. But how cute are these cookies? Almost too cute to eat. Almost. But they are delicious so bake them and then eat away! Perfect for your Easter gathering or just to celebrate spring! Come on! Let’s go make some nests…

What you will need: 

Standard size muffin pan, greased well

Note: I used a mini muffin pan and was not happy with the results. The nests were too tall and did not bake as I hoped.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
Mini Cadbury chocolate eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In another large bowl (or bowl of your electric mixer), beat butter, oil and sugar until smooth. Add in egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Gradually add the flour mixture until dough is formed.

Divide the dough evenly into the prepared muffin pan. I would say about a heaping tablespoon each. Press down gently with a shot glass or other round object that fits. The picture below is of a mini muffin pan. If you use a standard size one, the dough should only go about halfway up the muffin holder? Cup? Hole? Do you get it? 🙂

Top with coconut and spread around the edges. It will shrink as it bakes so use as much or as little as you like.

Bake for 11-13 minutes until beginning to brown. Let cool completely before removing cookies to wire rack. Once cookies are completely cooled, or just before serving, place 3 Cadbury eggs into each nest. Enjoy! Happy Easter!

I had enough dough to make 2 standard size muffin nests. See how they are bigger but shorter? Live and learn 😉

 

Carrot Cake Recipe

 

I love Easter because it kicks off the wonderful season of Spring; flowers are in bloom, animals frolic outside, and you can start wearing sandals! I live in Chicago so this is a big deal. My mom is hosting Easter this year, and I decided I would make a carrot cake, one of her favorite desserts. Grated carrots make this cake very sweet and moist (I know everyone hates that word, but it was all I could think of) and the frosting is made with cream cheese. Yum! So easy to make and even easier to eat. Let’s get this party started…

What you will need:

Two 9 in. cake pans

For the carrot cake:

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2 1/2 cups finely grated carrots
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the cream cheese frosting:

1/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)

 

I had to show a picture of the grating carrots process because it was a lot harder to do than I thought!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Butter or spray two 9 in. cake pans and line the bottoms with a circle of parchment paper.

To make the carrot cake:

In a medium sized bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and ground cinnamon. Set aside.

In a large bowl (or bowl of your electric mixer), beat the eggs until frothy. Gradually add the sugar and beat until the batter is thick and light colored (about 3 minutes). Add the oil in a steady stream and then add the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and beat until incorporated. With a large rubber spatular, fold in the grated carrots and chopped nuts. Evenly divide the batter between the two prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. After 10 minutes, invert the cakes onto the wire racks and let cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting:

In a large bowl (or bowl of your electric mixer), beat the cream cheese and butter until blended with no lumps. Gradually add the powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in the vanilla and lemon zest. Frost cake and enjoy!

Happy Easter!