The Kid’s Korner for this issue gets to celebrate two holidays!  St. Patrick’s Day and Easter - which are two of my favorite holidays.  I tried to make these really fun for the kids, AND the adults, because if the adults don’t have fun ‘helping’ the kids, it won’t be something you do again.  Besides, I know from experience with my Mom,  - adults - you have as much fun as the kids do! 

Easter Cross Cupcakes 

Ingredients

Disposable piping bag 

Melting chocolate- white, dark, or milk

1 cup softened butter

1 cup softened cream cheese 

¼ cup heavy whipping cream 

10 cups powdered sugar (or a little less - just make it not too sticky)

Your favorite cake mix- we used red velvet

 Directions

To make your chocolate crosses, line a cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper, then melt the chocolate until smooth then put into your piping bag and cut a small hole. Then pipe your crosses. let dry fully. Bake your cupcakes according to the box. To make the icing, cream butter, cream cheese, milk, vanilla and heavy whipping cream then gradually add powdered sugar until peaks form, you can also dye your icing different colors. After your cupcakes cool then ice them and peel the crosses off and put them on top

Pot of gold cake pops 

Ingredients 

Cake mix, we used french vanilla

4 different color dyes 

icing , for an icing recipie checkout the cupcakes

Milk chocolate 

Gold melting chips or white chocolate dyed yellow

Cake pop sticks, you can also use wooden dowels or straws

Gold sprinkles, if you can not find those you can get white sprinkles and put a few drops of yellow in them and mix

Directions 

Make your cake as the box says, then before baking separate into 4 bowls and dye them, we used purple, red, green, and blue for part of the rainbow then bake your cakes as the box tells you too. Let the cake cool then take out of the pan and crumble them, the crumblier you get it the better. Then mix icing a little at a time, when you try to make a ball if its to crumbly add more icing. To make the balls grab a little from each color and roll. Then place in the refrigerator overnight. Before you dip them in the milk chocolate put your sticks in. then dip and push down slightly when you place the dipped ball on the cookie sheet lined with wax paper, make sure you get a flat bottom. Once fully dry dip the very end that has the flat bottom in the gold chocolate then the sprinkles and place back onto the cookie sheet.

Rice Krispie Treat Eggs 

 Ingredients

Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Cereal

Butter 

Mini Marshmallows

Food color 

Directions

Melt 3 Tablespoons butter in a medium pan. Add 3 cups of Mini Marshmallows and stir until the marshmallows are completely melted. Take the pan off the heat. Add food coloring and mix. Add 3 cups of Rice Krispie Cereal and mix until they are completely covered with the marshmallow mixture. Allow the Rice Krispie Mixture to cool slightly. Grab a handful of the Rice Krispie Treat mixture and then use your hands to form the Easter Eggs. Allow Rice Krispie Bits to cool. Repeat for the other three Easter Egg colors.

Tye Dyed Easter Eggs

 Ingredients

Hard Boiled Eggs

1 container of Whipped Cream

Neon Food Coloring

Vinegar

Toothpicks

Disposable Gloves

Directions 

Place your eggs in a large pot and fill it with water to cover the eggs. Add a couple of teaspoons of salt to the water. Bring it to a boil. Turn the heat off once it starts to boil and place a lid on top. Let them sit for 5 minutes. Drain and add the eggs to ice cold water to cool. This method is great for easy peeling. Soak the eggs in vinegar for about 10 minutes. Add your whipped cream to a cookie sheet and spread over entire pan. Mix 2 Tablespoons of vinegar into each color you decide to use. We used gel food coloring. Add dots of the coloring on the top of the whipped cream. Swirl the colors using a toothpick or a knife. Dry off your eggs that were soaking in the vinegar. Then roll the eggs in the whipped cream. Let them sit for 30 min then wash with water - NOTE:  We let some sit for 30 minutes, and others sit for an hour.  The hour eggs looked better - if you are doing them for ‘looks’.

St Patrick’s Day Play-dough 

 Ingredients

2 cups flour 

2 cups water

1 cup salt

Green food coloring

Green glitter -  Or green luster dust in case you are making it for little children, this way if they eat it, it’s perfectly safe

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, stir well and cook over medium heat until dough forms into a ball. Remove from heat and cool.  If it is too sticky, just add more flour.

Leprechaun hats 

 Materials:

Craft sticks

Glue

Black paper

Yellow paper

Green paint

Cardstock or fiberboard

Your favorite color of construction paper or headband strips

Instructions:

Take 10 craft sticks and glue them to the cardstock then, use 4 for the band of the hat for support, let those dry. While they are drying make your bands, take your construction paper and cut into 3 strips longways. Measure your head and staple the pieces together. You can decorate any way. Once the hat part is dry paint it. I did two coats of green paint. While the paint is drying cut out a black strip long enough to cover part of the width of the hat. Then cut out a yellow square then a smaller black one. Once the paint is dry glue the black strip just above the band then put the yellow square in the middle of the black strip then place the black square in the middle of the yellow square. Once its all dry cut your hat out from the cardstock and glue to you headband strip and let dry