31 Days of Halloween 2014 - Day 30: Swirled Lollipop Cookies

Good morning!  I can't believe how quickly this month has gone by - is it possible that Halloween is TOMORROW??

Well, regardless of how I feel about the passage of time, Halloween is indeed almost here.  I spent last night baking cookies with the kiddos and possibly having an impromptu 80s dance party in the kitchen.  It was so much fun - way more fun than the cleaning that needed to get done but didn't ;P

The kiddos used cookie cutters and sprinkles to decorate their cookies, and I just supervised while they worked.  After they went to bed, I decided to try something a little different from my normal cookie routine.  I had seen these cookies on Pinterest and thought they were the cutest things ever!  No tutorial, though, so I started searching how to make regular swirl lollipops.  I found a tutorial on how to make it out of fondant, so that's where I started.

First, I separated out my sugar cookie dough (I use LilaLoa's recipe - it's AWESOME!) and used some Americolor gel color to color it different typical Halloween colors.  I chose black, orange, purple and lime green (which I just used leaf green and electric yellow, and violet for the purple).  I dropped a few drops into the dough balls and began to knead it in.  If you don't want your hands to be technicolor, be sure to wear some food safe gloves.  I found mine at Kroger, I think they're called Clean Cuisine or something like that.  The gel color rinses off the gloves really well, too, so you can wear the same pair for all the colors.   Just rinse and dry in between.

Your dough will be really soft after this step.  I didn't chill it but just dove right in, and if I were to do it again, I would definitely chill it for a little bit so it's easier to roll out.  Also, I wouldn't use flour - it rolled a little better with some friction from the counter.  But that was just my experience - do whatever works for you :D

Take a chunk of whatever colors you want to use and make short, fat, little snakes out of them - just like preschool playdough, man!  This part was really fun ;)  Sorry for the horrible lighting - my kitchen is pretty dark and I made these late after everyone was asleep.

Line them up, then roll them together evenly. 

Once it is to the thickness you want, you can start making the swirls look the way you want them.  Roll in the same direction both ways so that the swirl is continuous across the entire snake.

Once it looks the way you want it to, start at one end and roll toward the other.  

It's that simple!  This dough was pretty sticky because of working with it and not chilling it, so it stuck together well.  Transfer to a parchment lined cookie sheet and shove a lollipop stick in one end.  Bake according to recipe directions - but keep an eye on it.  I had to add a couple of minutes because they still looked shiny in the center - I guess because there's so much dough rolled together.

Let cool completely on the cookie sheet, then bag them and close with a cute twist-tie.  

My favorite color combos were the purple/black and lime green/black.  So fun!!

You can also make little "candies" instead of lollipops.  Just make them a little smaller and don't put a stick in them.  To bag, put them in and squeeze all the air out.  Close the bag near the end with a twist tie.  Turn the bag upside down so the cookie is pressed up against the twist tie.  Grab another twist tie and close the bag close to the cookie.

  All done!  Pass out to all your neighbors and friends :D

Enjoy!  If you make these, I'd love to see pictures of what you come up with!!

31 Days of Halloween 2014 - Day 29: Kawaii Halloween Candy Pics

I'm kind of obsessed with all things kawaii (which means "lovable" or "cute" in Japanese.)  It's a style that looks very cartoonish, with exaggerated features.  I just think it's super cute.  I don't dress in it or anything, I just find it fun :)

Well, I also tend to spend time on the website dafont.com, finding fun new fonts to use.  I came across this font for kawaii eyes and knew I had to do something for Halloween :D

Picmonkey has some cute free clipart of Halloween candy, so here are some kawaii candy pics for y'all.  These are for personal use, as instructed by the font maker.  Thanks!  Just click on the picture(s) that you want and save to your computer.

Enjoy!!

31 Days of Halloween 2014 - Day 28: Little Monkey Trick-or Treat Bag

 

As Little Man gets older, he just reminds me of a little monkey - his ears pop out a bit and his sweet little voice saying gibberish - I can't help it.  So this year, he'll be going as a cute little monkey in a costume that Grandma found.  His trick or treat bag is brown and has a little banana on it ;)

Supplies:

5 sheets of brown felt

1 sheet of yellow felt

Google a banana outline or clipart and blow up to full Letter size, or just free-hand an oval shape with a stem.

Use your template or freehand design and cut out of yellow felt.  I used brown thread, and sewed it to a piece of brown felt in portrait orientation (unlike the other 2 bags I made here and here.)  I used brown thread to give the banana some dimension.  I also cut a stem and bottom piece out of brown felt and sewed them on.  

Cut another piece of brown felt in half lengthwise for 2 strips 4.5"x12".  These will be the sides of the bag.  Cut another strip from a 3rd piece of felt that is 4.5"x 9".  Sew them together long-short-long.  Follow instructions for the Silvermist bag for attaching the sides and back, and the Elsa bag for the cutting, sewing, and attaching the straps.  

Just as a tip, when I sew on the sides, I sew all the way to the end, then flip the flap back toward where I've already sewn and sew across the bottom.  I just find that the easiest way to sew corners, but you can do it however you'd like.

So cute for my little monkey :D