Easter Treats, 2011

It's Easter time again! Although the egg hunt at school is not until tomorrow, I decided that I would "treat" the class to Easter snacks today, as well. You know, just in case Bryce decides it's time to enter the world - wouldn't want to leave the kids hanging!

So, yesterday afternoon/night, my mom (Yippeeeeeee! She's heeeeeeeere!) and I set to work on the two projects I picked out for this year.

The first idea was a very simplistic one that I found here. Called Peeps on a Straw. It looked so easy, yet I knew the girls and their school friends would find it novel to have a Peep on their drinking straw. Besides, what better way to encourage them to finish their milk? ("When you finish your milk, you can eat your Peep!")

Turned out it WAS a simple project, short of a few minor issues that Haley didn't mention on her blog:

1) The bunny Peeps are a lot more dense than the chick Peeps. Making it much more difficult to get the straw through them. Without destroying the bunny, that is (which I did on two occasions).

2) The Peeps don't just slide cleanly onto the straw. Not sure why I thought they would, since they're made of MARSHMALLOW. So Mom's task in the assembly line evolved quickly into cleaning the sticky mess off of the bottom of each straw after I got the Peep placed. The hotter the rag, the easier the chore. Not the most fun job in the world, but someone had to do it. (Thanks, Mom!)

3) Don't forget to use a toothpick to remove the ball of marshmallow that will stick in the straw upon its insertion into the Peep. Otherwise, the kiddos might not be able to get their drink through it!

All-in-all, a quick and fun project. The girls tested out a few extras at dinner last night, and gave them a big thumbs up!



Treat #2 came from Parents.com. Cake Mix Cookies. I loved their "spring-y" look (and easy directions, of course!), and I knew the girls would love the frosting and the sprinkles.

The hardest part about these were making sure we made the mounds small enough to get exactly 60 out of the batter. Because 60 mounds make 30 cookies, and there are 15 kids in each class at school. Imagine the pressure Mom and I felt as we proceeded through the process, knowing that if we dropped EVEN ONE COOKIE, we wouldn't have enough! Stress has been known to bring on labor, right? Didn't work for me last night.

These treats were a bit more complex, but only in that they took more time. Each step was easy and fun. In fact, Mom and I both agree that we preferred this process to that of the sticky Peeps!

So here's the process in pictures!

The 60 "mounds" and sprinkles...


After they were baked:


The resulting cookies with spring-y frosting middles...



So there you have it! Another round of successful holiday treat-making. Here they are, all packaged and ready to go to school. Hope the kiddos enjoy!