Foodie Patoodie!: Holiday Recipe!

Once again, I jumped the gun and took on a project that turned out to be really fun but really lonely unless your child is OLD ENOUGH TO HELP. This is about as festive as it gets, and it's not necessarily just for the holidays. I consider this more of a winter recipe but I did make them to be enjoyed on Christmas afternoon, after the traditional vat of chili was eaten.

I imagine that the perfect age range to enjoy this activity would be 7 to 12 years of age. Old enough to dip the doughnut holes into the frosting and wrap the little Twizzlers Pull & Peel scarves around the snowmen's frosty little necks. Probably not 17 months old and more interested in throwing the doughnut holes across the room resulting in a definitive "splat" which you'll be cleaning up later, but only after it's already gotten dry and concreted itself to an undoubtedly porous surface because you were so preoccupied with your artsy project that no one truly cares about except you, and afterwards forcing everyone to eat them while you're watching as they make exaggerated "mmmmmmm" sounds, secretly scraping the gumdrop berets from their dental bridges. Have fun!

~Ingredients~

28 glazed doughnut holes

1 bag of semi-sweet miniature chocolate chips

orange Starburst

1 can vanilla frosting

1 box Good & Fruity candies

1 bag of Brach's Jelly Bells candies

1 bag miniature marshmallows

1 bag Twizzlers Pull & Peel licorice strips

toothpicks

wax paper

~Directions~

1. Open the can of frosting and heat in microwave in ten-second intervals, stirring between each interval, until it has melted into a consistency similar to buttermilk.

2. Cover two plates with wax paper.

3. Using a fork, dip a doughnut hole into the frosting, coating it completely.

3. Place the dipped doughnut hole onto a plate covered with wax paper. Insert a toothpick into the center.

4. Dip a second doughnut hole into the frosting and slide it onto the toothpick so that it sits atop the first doughnut hole. Repeat until all doughnut holes have been frosted, toothpicked, and stacked.

5. Steadying the snowman by holding the toothpick with one hand, push the pointed tip of the semisweet miniature chocolate chips into the "face" of the frosted snowmen so that the flat bottom is facing out creating the snowmen's eyes.

6. Unwrap an orange Starburst. Using a serrated knife, saw one of the four corners off and mold into the shape of a "carrot nose" with your fingers. It's okay if it is not perfect. No snowman has a perfect carrot nose. Repeat for the rest of the noses.

7. Press the carrot nose onto the snowman the same way you applied the eyes.

8. Cut the end off of a Good & Fruity with a pair of kitchen scissors.

9. Repeat and press vertically onto snowmen until there are three "buttons" apiece.

10. Pull one bundle of Twizzlers Pull & Peel from the bag, and peel two strips (stuck together) from the bundle. Wrap around the neck of each snowman to create a scarf.

11. Using a pair of kitchen scissors, cut the bottom flat part of the Brach's Jelly Bell from the top part and place on top of each snowman's head, using the top of the toothpick to secure it into place.