Heart Shape Animals - Decorated Peppermint Patty Candy

There is something about cute animals that are different but look the same that I really love!  I pin these pics all the time and decided to recreate some in candy form.

How cute are these little edible animals? 

Fox, Deer, Bear, Rabbit, Koala, Giraffe, Another Bear, Tiger, and Skunk

Here's an example that I was trying to emulate:

I thought heart-shaped candies would be a really good canvas!

The heart-shaped peppermint patties are available around Valentine's Day time but you can also find them on Amazon.  Or if you can't find heart-shaped candies you could just use circles.  

Sometimes I use candy melts in various colors to decorate but this time I used royal icing as I wanted the icing to be nice and flat.

Dip or paint the colors onto the chocolate.  Ears and other details can also be piped onto parchment.  Wait until they are totally dry before trying to move / add to candy.  Use a dab of royal icing to attach.

Add the cute white cheeks and other detail for animals after the base color is dry. The noses are larger black candy sprinkles.   The giraffe and koala needed larger noses so they are made with more royal icing. 

The other detail is added with edible markers once all the royal icing is totally dry.  

They turned out so cute!

                                             

                                                                Which is your favorite??
 

Decorated Heart-Shaped Animal Candy

1 package of heart-shaped chocolates (I used peppermint patties)

2 cups of royal icing

Various colors of food gels (see photos as a guide)

Large black sprinkles

Edible food writer in black and pink

Directions:

• Prepare royal icing.  My fav recipe here
• Color royal icing with food gels (see photos as a guide to colors needed)
• Paint or dip each candy heart into colors.  Let dry for about 30 mins or more if needed.
• While waiting for hearts to dry make ears and other details.  Pipe royal icing onto parchment paper.  Let dry totally before moving (at least 30 mins)
• Add giraffe spots and skunk streak (you can add before the base coat is dry)
• Attach royal icing detail with a dab of royal icing
• Pipe white cheeks onto each heart and let dry.
• Add eyes and pink rosiness to cheeks with an edible marker.

Cute Animal Madeleine Cookie Pops (a la Trendy Animal Cakes)

Do you love all the trendy animal themed cakes going around the interwebs? 

The most famous is the unicorn cake of course.  

I recently made one for my daughter's 11th birthday along with a Marvel themed cake for her twin!

I really wanted to make all the animals in cake form but then I got realistic and decided on madeleine cookie pops.

I have a madeleine pan that my sister gave me years ago and I love using it.  1) Because the madeleine cookie recipe is so simple and 2) Madeleine cookies are one of my favs because they are more like little cakes!

Once baked and cooled I used various colors of candy melts/chocolates and sprinkles to transform them into cute animals.  

Fox & Bear

Bunny Rabbit & Sheep

Deer & Llama

 And of course a Narwhal & Unicorn!

I love seeing them all together and if I had more time would have loved to add other cute animals to the collection! Don't forget to add those trendy closed eyes with eyelashes!

Wrap them up and bring them to a summer party or use as party gifts.

Which is your fav animal??

Thanks for swinging by - is it summer or winter where you live?

Woodland Christmas Gnome Cupcakes with Edible Moss

So this whole month I've been thinking Christmas is on Friday - hubby points out yesterday that the 25th is on THURSDAY! Ahhhh, I lost an entire day, what was I thinking?? Well let the mad rush of pre-christmas activity begin.  I was hoping to get a couple treats in before the big day, but I think this will be the last one I get to.

But it's gnomes AND more specifically Christmas gnomes all in white on top of mounds of edible moss!

I made candy gnomes awhile back (which was the start of all my little people creations). 

So when I saw this post on making edible moss by It's the Life I knew more woodsy gnomes had to be done.  Making the moss is so easy.  All you need is graham crackers and some green food coloring.  Mix it up and dip the frosted cupcakes in.  Edible Moss! 

The process for making candy gnomes can be found below but I've also explained it here.

I used all white this time to make them a little more whimsical for Christmas and added holly sprinkles.  The other additions are these neat Chococones - I think they are supposed to be pine cones but I think they look like little trees.  They are tiny and taste like a little biscuit dipped in chocolate.  Delish.  (Be aware the package does say they could contain a trace amount of tree nuts, so don't use them if you have nut allergies).  The company also make cute mushrooms too (used in my first gnome post).

I also added some tiny chocolate rabbits that I had laying around (Don't ask me why I have tiny rabbits laying around!)

Add more moss as needed, the messier the better.

To make Candy Gnomes (makes about 6)

• Hershey Chocolate Bells (I used peppermint bark flavored but they make a few different kinds now - pick your fav flavor)
• Bugles chips
• 4 cups of white vanilla candy melting wafers plus + 2 teaspoons of vegetable shortening; 1/2 cup of candy melts for adding detail.  If you want to make your gnomes other colors, you'll need those color candy melts as well.
• Holly mix sprinkles (or you could substitute other types of red/green sprinkles)
• Black edible food writer

Directions:

1. Melt candy wafers in the microwave with shortening (will allow dipping to be smoother) in a mug/dish tall enough to dip Bugles.
2. Pick Bugles that have a nice gnome hat shape and insert a skewer into bottom and dip into the melted candy.  The skewer allows you to hold the Bugle without getting your hands messy.  Coat entire Bugle (not inside) and then allow to harden on parchment.
3. Unwrap Hershey Bells and dip the round part first into candy melt (this will be the head/face).  The candy should not be too hot as that will melt the chocolate.  Allow candy to harden.
4. Once hardened, hold bell by the round side (that you just dipped) and dip the flat part bottom into the candy melt.  This will be the bottom part of the gnome.  Again the candy should not be too hot or you could melt the chocolate bell.  Allow candy to harden on parchment.
5. Add about 1/2 cup of the candy melt to a zip lock bag.  Melt in microwave until smooth.  Snip and end of the bag and "pipe" on some gnome "hair".  While it's still wet attach your white gnome hat (the dipped Bugle).  Add more hair as needed to fill in any gaps.  
6. Pipe on beard and tiny nose.
7. With food writer add a black belt around waist and tiny eyes.
8. Attach holly sprinkles with more candy melt.

To make Edible Moss

• 8 graham crackers
• 1-2 drops of green food gel

Directions:

1. Crush up graham crackers in a large baggie
2. Add food gel to bag and mix well (that's it!)

Decorate as you wish with the gnomes and little chocolates.  I'm loving the way they came out!

Wishing all of you a very happy holiday season and Merry Christmas to those who celebrate!  Thank you for always stopping by, reading, sharing and leaving such sweet comments over the year! Very much appreciated.  

Candy Foxes for Valentines Day

Is it me or are you also seeing the explosion of fox related stuff everywhere? I'm not sure what started the cute little fox trend, probably last years' What Does the Fox Say video by Ylvis, but I'm predicting that foxes out cute owls for the most shared, crafted, and meme'd animal of 2014! Well it may come pretty close.  Although I think my love of foxes started with the Dr Seuss book Fox in Socks.  I mean what kid (or adult) can resist a tweetle beetle puddle paddle battle from a fox in blue socks? 

Or maybe it came from the pretty awesome Fantastic Mr. Fox - probably because I'm a child of stop motion animated movies and there are so few of them these days or maybe because it's a little dark and I kinda like that, or that George Clooney is playing the Fantastic Mr Fox aka Foxy - get it George is Foxy - can he state it any more clearly than that?!

Well if you have a weird fascination with foxes like I do (who knew I'd be typing that), follow my fox board over on Pinterest!

And when I found these cute little fox take out boxes I knew I'd be doing some sort of fox related treat soon. One of my favorite candy bars is York Peppermint Patties.  I know another weird like.  Somehow I've passed the peppermint/mint liking gene down to the kids too, they also love them.  Every Valentines Day, you can find heart shaped Peppermint Patties.  I've made valentine owls with them before here, but this year I made little foxes with them.

Step 1: Dunk in some melted candy melts (I used 1/2 cup of red and 1/2 cup of orange Wilton candy melts).  Add 1 teaspoonful of vegetable shortening to allow for more smooth coating of the patty)

Step 2: Allow to dry

Step 3: Add detail with vanilla tootsie rolls and melted chocolate

I melt the tootsie roll in the microwave for about 7-10 seconds, then roll it flat with a rolling pin.  Take a large icing tip and cut out a circle with the round part of the tip (as shown here).  Then cut the circle in half and apply it to the heart patty.  The tootsie roll is a little sticky so I didn't even use any adhesive.  It stuck on by itself.  Cut out little triangles for the ears and apply the same way.  Lastly melt some chocolate chips in a zip lock bag, snip an end and pipe on nose and eyes.  It's really pretty quick.

And that's it.  Cute little fox faces.  

I'm going to use these for valentines for the kiddo's friends in class.  I think I'm going to just put them into the fox take out box or a cellophane treat bag, tie with some ribbon and add a tag that says "What does the fox say" and then "Happy Valentines Day of course!" I'm pretty sure all the 1st graders know that song but hopefully they don't say, "That's so 2013"!

Anyhoo, hope you like the treats and stay warm, this polar vortex is a great name for it.  I think we all need to start the countdown to spring!  Have a GREAT WEEK!

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