Deviled Egg Boats

Deviled Egg Boats

Peel the eggs, then slice each one in half to make boats. Place the yolks in a medium-sized bowl and mash them with a fork. Add the mustard and the vinegar, then add the mayonnaise, stirring until the consistency is smooth but not soupy.

Next, make the sails. To do this, cut each pepper into 1-inch-wide strips, then cut the strips into 1-inch squares and slice each square in half diagonally.

Fill the egg-white halves with the yolk mixture. Stick the sail upright into the filling and sprinkle with paprika.

Recipe and picture from FamilyFun.go.com

Chocolate Ginger Bathing Beauties

Chocolate Ginger Bathing Beauties

3-1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons ground ginger

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1/2 cup unsulfured molasses

1/3 cup (2 ounces) candy-coated chocolates

1/4 cup chocolate chips, melted

2 pints chocolate ice cream

Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl; set aside. Put shortening and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 1 minute.

Mix in egg. Reduce speed to medium. Mix in vinegar and molasses. Reduce speed to low. Gradually mix in flour mixture until soft dough forms. Let stand at room temperature until slightly firm, 10 minutes.

Divide dough into thirds. Roll 1 piece between 2 sheets of parchment paper to just over 1/8 inch thick. Transfer parchment and dough to baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, stacking them on the same baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours (or chill in freezer 1 hour).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Transfer 1 sheet of dough on parchment to a lightly floured work surface. Peel off 1 layer of parchment, and then pat it back into place. Flip dough; peel away second sheet of parchment, and discard. Cut out shapes using a 4-inch gingerbread-man cookie cutter, transferring to parchment-lined baking sheets as you work. Roll out scraps; repeat.

Bake cookies until edges are just browned, about 7 minutes. While cookies are warm, poke eyes and noses on half of them using the blunt end of a skewer. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Repeat with remaining dough and scraps.

Decorate the cookies that have faces with candies, using a small amount of melted chocolate to adhere them. Let ice cream stand at room temperature until slightly softened, about 10 minutes. Spread 1/2-inch thick layer of ice cream onto the underside of an undecorated cookie. Place a decorated cookie on top. Smooth edges using a knife or small spatula. Transfer to a baking sheet in freezer. Repeat with remaining cookies and ice cream. Freeze until set, about 1 hour, before serving.

Recipe and picture from MarthaStewart.com

Bagel Buoy

Bagel Buoy

Bagel

1 (8 ounce) package of strawberry cream cheese

Bell peppers

Shredded cheese

Put the strawberry cream cheese into a plastic freezer bag and snip off a small corner.

Pipe the cheese through the hole in the bag to create arms and legs, then hold the tip in place to fill the bagel hole and squeeze out a ball for the head.

Cut out a mask, snorkel, and pair of flippers from bell peppers and pat the pieces with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. Put the snorkel gear in place, top the head with shredded cheese, and set your skin diver afloat!

Recipe and picture from FamilyFun.go.com

Cookie Crab

Cookie Crab

2 chocolate sandwich cookies

1/4 teaspoon ready-to-spread vanilla frosting

2 candy-coated chocolate pieces

Cut 1 of the cookies in half. Use some of the frosting to attach cookie halves, cut-sides facing each other, to bottom of remaining cookie for the crab's claws.

Place on plate.

Use remaining frosting to attach candies to top of whole cookie for the crab's eyes. Let stand until frosting is firm.

Recipe and picture from KraftFoods.com

Flip Flops Cake

Flip Flops Cake

1 box yellow cake mix

Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box

2 containers vanilla frosting

Assorted food colors

About 40 small round candy-coated fruit flavored chewy candies

1 roll fruit snack (4.5 ounce box)

2 edible pansy or silk daisy flowers

Heat oven to 350 degrees (325 degrees for dark or nonstick pans). Grease or spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan. Make and bake cake as directed on box for 13x9-inch pan. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Refrigerate or freeze cake 1 hour or until firm.

In small bowl, mix 1 container frosting with food color to make desired color for sides of flip flops. Reserve 1/3 cup frosting from second container. In small bowl, stir second food color into 1 cup of the remaining frosting to make desired color for top of flip flops.

Using serrated knife, cut rounded top off cake to level surface; place cut side down. Cut cake lengthwise in half. Continue cutting each piece to form flip flop shape as shown in diagram*. Place pieces on tray. Spread a thin layer of frosting for "sides" over each entire flip flop to seal in crumbs. Refrigerate or freeze cake 30 to 60 minutes to set frosting. Frost sides of flip flops with the same remaining frosting. Frost tops of flip flops with second color frosting.

Tint remaining 1/3 cup frosting with food color. To pipe frosting around top edge of flip flops, spoon tinted frosting into small resealable food storage plastic freezer bag and cut small tip off 1 bottom corner of bag. Pipe zigzag design. Place small candies around side edge of each flip flop to look like jewels. Cut two 6-inch pieces from fruit roll; cut pieces lengthwise in half. Arrange on flip flops for straps. Just before serving, top with flowers. Store loosely covered.

*Click here for flip flop template design

Recipe and picture from BettyCrocker.com