Marshmallow Spider Pops

Halloween is almost here! Are you ready? Do you have all of your costume assembled? Your trick-or-treats bag retrieved out of storage? Or are they still sitting on top of the Halloween box where you left them a year ago? It's been a year since last Halloween already??

For my daughter's preschool group the beginning of October I decided to make an experimental treat. Marshmallow spider pops. I had seen a cake pop version and wanted to try this simplified version.

These are simple, but a bit messy.
Needed:
--6 large marshmallows
--1 cup chocolate chips
--6 feet black licorice rope (on3 small package is plenty)
--2 edible pearls for eyes
--6 popsicle or succor sticks

First, cut up black licorice ropes into 2-3" pieces. These will be your legs.You simply melt about 1 cup chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl for 1 minute. Continue cooking, for 30 second intervals. stir. Repeat until melted.

After dipping marshmallows in chocolate, see this tutorial here, and while the pop is still wet, holding onto the pop with your left hand, gently take a sharp knife and create 4 small slits onto either side of pop. Gently push 1 spider leg into each slit. Smooth over any missed spots. Dry in a sturdy vase or egg carton to dry. To quicken the drying process, refrigerate for 5 minutes until firm.

You can make wolf spiders, by adding toasted coconut.

 Dead spiders, with the curly ends of licorice rope, facing up and eyes on the bottom. 

 Go ahead, take a bite!

Bake Sale

I have a few topics to cover today. All doing with school! This is the last week of school for my Kindergartner! I can't believe the school year is over already!

Yesterday the school had their biggest fundraiser of the year, the only one in fact. A huge extravaganza. It was fabulous! The kids and I had non-stop fun for 3 full hours. And that beats selling candy bars door-to-door!

I signed up to bring a food item for the bake sale. And I brought something that I didn't actually have to bake but I knew would be popular. Marshmallow pops! Here is a tutorial, FYI. I was trying to think of something that would hold them while they dried and that I didn't mind donating along with the goodies. I thought about using $1 store floral foam. But I wanted to save time, money and to recycle. So then I thought of an egg carton (not styrofoam...not sure that the paint would stick as well). The perfect marshmallow pop stand! It's sturdy, simple, inexpensive, raised like a little cake stand, and it's recycling.


It's simple! All you need to do is tape the lid, on both sides, with masking or packing tape so the sticks don't fall through the holes when you flip it over. If the sticks lean over too much, then scrunch a paper towel inside before closing to act as filler.


Then cut a hole or "x" on the bottom of the center of each cone where the egg rests. Lastly, you or your children can paint it. I've used acrylic paints and spray paint, and the acrylics coat better. It does absorb a lot of paint, but it still uses a minimal amount. Be sure to let it dry completely before placing the pops inside. I blow dried mine to hasten the drying process but I did not dry it inside so when I placed the sticks inside it was still a little wet and got some paint on some of the sticks. So let it dry and then it's all ready! Just place each pop in the hole. It fits 1 dozen perfectly!

Marshmallow Pops

We had a Memorial Day BBQ with some friends. Between the two families we had 8 hungry kids! As I was setting up they spied these marshmallow pops and their eyes popped. They were so tempted by these kid friendly little treats that I had to hide them until after dinner. I saved one for myself to try and they are pretty tasty and fun to eat too!

Here is a little tutorial on how to make them.

Ingredients:
--1 pound of Candy Melts OR 1 block of melting chocolate.

**These candy melts can be found at any craft store. They come in a variety of colors and flavors. They were cheaper than the same amount in the melting chocolate from the grocery store, and that was before I used a coupon! If you buy the chocolate you can dye it with oil based colors which are found in craft aisles too.

--6 inch Lollipop sticks, also found at craft store

--Large marshmallows

--Sprinkles, nonpareils, mini chocolate chips, etc

Instructions:

Follow the instructions on the packaging for the candy melts or chocolate. I used just a few at first to see how many they would coat. To make 16 of these little guys I only used about 30 of these chips, in other words, not even close to the whole pound.

Stab the marshmallow with the lollipop stick.

Swirl the marshmallow in the melted candy. It's tricky to get it evenly coated so make sure it's melted enough so it's not gloppy on parts of the mallow. No, those are not my lovely pink nails. I'm too lazy to paint my nails.

Gently sprinkle the candy sprinkles onto the covered marshmallow. Hold over a plate so you can catch the excess and use them again. Turn at the same time to evenly coat. Don't forget the tops!

Stick them in a candy filled bowl like I did. Or in a glass, vase or dish with Styrofoam in the bottom. Not only is a fun to way to display them it keeps them from touching each other! Don't smudge them! They can be set in the fridge for a few minutes to harden them quickly.

They have a nice candy "shell" and aren't a terrible mess to clean up!! You can put them in plastic candy bags and give as party favors. This is a quick, easy, simple and tempting little treat for kids.....and adults :)

Total Cost (after sales or coupons):
Candy melts: $1.50
Lollipop sticks, bag of 35: $1.50
Marshmallows: $1
Sprinkles: $1
Total: $5 and I have enough leftover ingredients to make them again!

Here are some additional photos from our Memorial Day Barbecue. I looked forward to making these ice cream sandwiches for weeks! I hand picked the red and blue mini m&m's out to match. I pre-made the cookies and froze them in advance. However, I did not test them enough because the ice cream still squished out the sides when we ate them. So, I made them again and learned that if you find the perfect cookie recipe, bake them slightly undercooked so they're still soft. Then scoop some ice cream into them, sandwich them together, wrap them individually in saran wrap and then freeze them. Then when you're ready to eat them, just roll the sides in sprinkles, mini chocolate chips or mini m&m's and eat them right away. They're much easier that way!


The food table without the BBQ food items. Western pennant banners found in my shop.