This is an Easter tradition from my childhood. I don't know where my mom came up with the idea, but since we were incredibly obedient children, we would always oblige her by making them without complaint--especially once we finally figured out the best way to dispose of the one or two that "accidentally" didn't turn out too well.
First, a warning. This is a case of "Do as I say, not as I do." After I photographed everything, I realized I'd remembered everything in the wrong order!
Cut the bunny first, then draw the face. You have a better chance of getting the bunny's face in the right place that way. But my motto is "Quirky is cute." AKA, "Done is good." Even quirky-looking bunnies have a habit of disappearing right before your very eyes. Just relax and have fun.
Find the best side of the marshmallow. That's where you'll put the face. Starting on the top of the marshmallow opposite from the face , cut a wedge shape in the marshmallow with
children's scissors (they're smaller and easier to handle), catching both the top and the side of the marshmallow in the cut. Snip it most of the way across the marshmallow, but do not cut the wedge completely off.
(TIP: The cleaner the scissors, the cleaner the cut. You might want to keep a cup of clean water nearby and something for wiping the scissors clean and for drying them from time to time.)
Repeat, cutting another wedge on the opposite side of the marshmallow. These are the ears. Mom always tried to coax them to stand up, but no matter what she tried, these pretty-much always seemed to be floppy-eared bunnies.
Side view.
(Oops. There shouldn't be a face. Pretend you don't see that.) To create the front legs, start in the middle of the marshmallow, making a sideways cut through to the outside. Repeat for other leg.
Side view. I put a jelly bean between his legs so they'd stand out better for you to see.
Now it's time to decorate the cut marshmallow. You just need a drop of red liquid food coloring and a pointed toothpick.
Draw the face however you'd like by dipping the toothpick point into the food color and drawing on the marshmallow with it. In this example, the eyes are about 1/2-inch apart, and the "smile" is about 1/8-inch wide.
Draw a line connecting both ends of the "smile". You've formed the nose.
Create whiskers on both sides of the nose. If you'd like, add a marshmallow tail--dip one end of a mini marshmallow into a little bowl of clean water, squeegee the excess water off on the rim of the bowl, then press it where you want it to stick. Done! Mom would always put these on a chocolate cake.
But wait, there's more...
Marshmallow Posy Cupcake Toppers.
Making the posies is easy--if the marshmallows cooperate and stick together. For me, maybe 1 out of 4 or 5 posies does not cooperate. I don't understand why they don't stick together--it's just one of those odd facts of life. Like bright sunlight making you sneeze.
You need mini marshmallows, a small bowl of water with barely any water in it, and two pieces of waxed paper.
Working on one piece of waxed paper, set aside a center marshmallow and 6 petal marshmallows. Dip the side of a petal marshmallow in water, squeegee off the excess water against the bowl rim and press the petal against the side of the center marshmallow. Repeat with remaining petal marshmallows. The posy seems to stick together better if the moistened part of the petal marshmallow is pressed against the center marshmallow
and to a petal marshmallow beside it.
Do not try to force the last marshmallow to touch both petals on either side of it. Pressing it against the center marshmallow and against only one petal is fine. In fact, it leaves a nice place for you to later insert a toothpick. (See above.)
The bottom of the posy will probably be damp, so carefully pick it up and turn it upside down to allow it to dry on the 2nd piece of waxed paper.
Cut 3" pieces of green curling ribbon and tie around toothpicks. Once dried, insert a toothpick into the posy to create a cupcake topper.
NOTE: You can dip a toothpick into clean water and moisten the side of a marshmallow with it to glue the marshmallows together instead. This works well if one marshmallow isn't sticking to the others on one side.
I just wanted to show you a transport idea I learned in my local RS--put your cupcakes inside a little solo cup, then wrap it up in a cello bag. It helps protect the frosting from getting messed up AND messing up the inside of the bag. A mini cupcake is shown above (that's why the Jelly Belly beans fit around the front of it), but regular-sized cupcakes fit it, too.
You can find the link for the gift tag in
this post.
Wishing you a very happy Easter!
Enjoy your visit!
Susan
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