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

   

Candy Chicks in Sugar Cookie Nests

Happy Spring peeps!

After the Christmas holiday I scooped up a box of Ferraro Collection chocolate on sale.  I've been meaning to try this brand of chocolates forever so half price was as good a reason as any.   In general I don't buy them because they are made with nuts and 2 out of 3 of mine have peanut and tree nut allergies.

But they are very tasty and I love they make a few different versions and of course I had to make something with them.  So bring on the chicks!

I thought the chocolates would make cute little spring chicks sitting in little cookie cup nests - and they do! Adding the detail to the chocolate was super simple.  Candy coated sunflower seeds are used for beak and comb and small dabs of black and white candy melts used for the eyes.

I love the way they look - the dark chocolate one's look especially no nonsense! My own version of angry birds.

And if you want to see what the chocolates look like inside (I always do) you can take a peak below. The coconut ones are my favs and they don't have any nuts in them.

Here's the official company description:

• ROCHER - tempting combination of luscious, creamy, chocolaty filling surrounding a whole hazelnut, within a delicate, crisp wafer all enveloped in milk chocolate and finely chopped hazelnuts.
• RONDOIR- fine dark chocolates are a unique combination of a creamy dark chocolate surrounding a hazelnut within a delicate, crisp wafer topped with crunchy dark chocolate morsels.
• RAFFAELLO - confections are a unique blend of select ingredients: an almond surrounded by a fine milk cream, then covered with a crisp, delicate wafer and sprinkled with tender shredded coconut.

The nests are made from store bought refrigerated cookie dough.  Add some to mini muffin pans with flaked coconut on top.  Bake until just golden.

I also toasted some coconut and added some more on top of the cookie nests after adding a generous squirt of melted chocolate on top of each one.

Then add your chicks

Sprinkle with extra toasted coconut to look like nesting material.

Pretend you didn't notice that I added the chicks the wrong way (red comb was supposed to be on top!)

Ok thats better! Combs on top again!

Now if the weather would cooperate and stay warm instead of flip flopping cold one day and warm the next.  

Although I do love the winter season - I'm very ready for Spring to stay around.

Lot's of birds in the yard today like robins and blue jays searching for worms and a couple flower buds even starting to poke through the dirt so I'm taking that as a good sign!  Happy Spring to you and have an awesomely awesome week! 

Candy Chicks in Cookie Nests

by Michelle Clausen March 28 - 2017

Ingredients

• Box of Ferrero Collection (includes Ferrero Rocher, Ferrero Raffaelo, and Ferrero Rondnoir)
• Red and Yellow candy coated sunflower seeds
• 1 cup of chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup of white chocolate chips
• 1 roll of refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 1 cup of sweetened coconut flakes

Instructions

1. For birds: Melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and add to a freezer bag.  Snip an end and pipe small amount onto end of sunflower seeds.  Attach as nose and feather to the Ferrero candies. Pipe small eyes.  Use white chocolate chips for the Raffaelo candy.
2. For nests: Spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick spray.  Add about 2 Tablespoons of cookie dough to each section, pressing down to make a nest shape.  Bake at 350 degrees until just lightly brown.  Let cool and pop out of muffin tin.
3. Add coconut to non stick pan.  Toast on medium heat until coconut is just browned.
4. Using leftover melted chocolate chips, add some melted chocolate to each nest and sprinkle toasted coconut on top.
5. Add more melted chocolate to bottom of "bird" and attach to nest.

Prep time: 45 minutes Yield: about 12-15 cookie nests