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FABULOUS DECORATED EGGS

INGREDIENTS:
1 dozen hard boiled eggs
Egg dying kit or several colors of food coloring
Self adhesive ribbon
Self adhesive stick-on jewels and/or crystals
Markers, crayons, paint or any other craft items you would like

INSTRUCTIONS:
Cool and dry the eggs. If you are using a store bought egg dying kit, follow the directions according to the package. If you are using food coloring, mix about 20 drops of food coloring with 1 tablespoon of vinegar in a coffee cup. Add ½ cup room temperature water. Repeat the steps above to make different colors.

Gently lower eggs into the cup. The longer you leave the eggs in the dye, the darker the colors will be. Once the egg reaches the desired color, remove from the cup with a spoon and pat dry with a paper towel. Allow to dry completely and decorate with your craft items.

As shown, we used adhesive ribbon available at your local craft store to create a 3-D appearance on the eggs and applied self adhesive crystals. The best part about this craft is you cannot decorate your egg wrong. To display the eggs, place some white rice at the bottom of a dish to nestle the eggs and prevent rolling.

INGREDIENTS:
Cookies:
3 cups all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg beaten
1 tablespoon milk
 Powdered sugar for rolling out dough

Icing:
3 tablespoons meringue powder
(available at kitchen supply stores and craft stores)
4 cups (about 1 lb.) powdered sugar
6 tablespoons warm water
Food colorings as desired

INSTRUCTIONS:

For the icing, beat all ingredients until icing forms peaks (7-10 minutes at low speed with a heavy-duty mixer, 10-12 minutes at high speed with a hand-held mixer). Separate the finished icing into bowls according to the number of colors you want to make. Add a small amount of food coloring to begin with to achieve pastel colors; more for darker colors.

For the cookies, sift flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside. Beat butter and sugar in stand mixer until it becomes light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. On low speed, gradually add flour mixture, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Sprinkle surface with powdered sugar. Sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to ¼-inch thick. Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges. Let sit on baking sheet for 1 minute after taking out of the oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Decorate as desired, putting colored royal icings in Ziploc bags and cutting a small tip of the corner to create a decorating bag. Store in airtight container.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a stand mixer, or a bowl with a hand mixer, combine the sugar, oil and vanilla. Add in one egg at a time. In another bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt—sift. With the mixer on low, slowly add all but 1 cup of the flour mixture. Add the carrots and walnuts to the remaining flour and toss to combine—this prevents the carrots and walnuts from falling to the bottom of the batter when cooking. Add the remaining flour, carrot and walnut mixture to the mixer and blend just enough to combine. Line the muffin tin with muffin cups and fill ¾ of the way. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes and then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for about 25 more minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Take out and cool on a rack.

In a clean mixing bowl, whip together the softened butter and cream cheese until they are well combined. Carefully add the powdered sugar at low speed and then add the vanilla. If you want to add color to the icing to look more festive, now is the time. Whip until well combined. When the cupcakes are completely cool, transfer the frosting to a piping bag or large Ziploc bag. Snip the last ½ inch of the bag tip and squeeze frosting onto the cupcake in a swirl pattern working from the outside in for a great pattern. You could also use a spatula to frost them simply.

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