An Edible Version Of Punxsutawney Phil

Source: http://www.sheknows.com – by Sandra Denneler

Who cares if there’s more winter ahead when you’ve got these adorable groundhog hot dogs on your plate? On Feb. 2, the groundhog always takes center stage as we anxiously wait to hear if spring is on its way. This year, celebrate Groundhog Day by making him the center of your plate, too! These funny hot dog groundhogs can be placed inside cornbread muffins, a snowy mound of mashed potatoes or baked biscuits, whichever your family prefers. Easy to create and a fun way to celebrate America’s favorite weather-forecasting rodent. Groundhog hot dogs For this recipe, 1 hot dog makes 2 groundhogs Ingredients and supplies: Hot dogs White cheese slice Black olives Cream cheese Clean paper hole punch Black food coloring pen Clean scissors Cornbread muffins, mashed potatoes or biscuits Directions: 1 Prepare groundhog burrows These can be created using cornbread muffins, mashed potatoes or biscuits. Bake or make whichever you prefer before making the hot dog groundhogs. 2 Cut groundhog ears and bake Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the hot dogs in half. To form the ears, make circular cuts at the top and around the back of the top of each hot dog. Prop the ears up with toothpicks. Place the hot dogs on a baking sheet and cook them for 10 minutes. 3 Make eyes, noses and teeth While the hot dogs are cooking, make the eyes, noses and teeth. Punch out circles of cheese and olives with a clean paper hole punch. Add dots to the cheese eyes using a black edible food coloring pen. Cut small rectangles of cheese for the teeth with a pair of clean scissors. 4 Attach eyes, noses and teeth to hot dogs When the hot dogs are done, allow them to cool a few minutes. Remove the toothpicks from behind the ears. Wipe any grease off of the face area. Attach the eyes, nose and teeth with tiny dollops of cream cheese. 5 Place the groundhogs in their burrows Use hollowed-out centers of your cornbread muffins, piles of mashed potatoes or baked biscuits. 6 Eat up! Celebrate Groundhog Day with a plate full of fun.

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Pop-up groundhog cookies

Source: http://www.sheknows.com/ – by Sandra Denneler

Pop goes the… groundhog? Play with your food! Don’t brave the cold weather to find out if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow this Groundhog Day — stay inside and make your own pop-up groundhog cookies instead! These adorable groundhog cookies are edible, movable and easy to make. The best part is, you can find out for yourself if we should expect six more weeks of winter from the comfort of your kitchen. So go ahead — play with your food! Pop-up groundhog cookie recipe Yields 12-15 cookies, depending on size of cookie mounds Ingredients and supplies: 2 cups granulated sugar 1/4 cup cocoa powder 1/2 cup butter or margarine 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup peanut butter 1 teaspoon vanilla 3 cups oatmeal (preferably quick-cooking oats) Tootsie Rolls Chocolate frosting or chocolate candy melts White decorator candy balls and sprinkles Black food color marker Dark Chocolate Fudge Stripe cookies (or a similar cookie with a hole in the center) 1-inch diameter plastic cake dowels (cut into 2-inch segments) Powdered sugar (optional) Directions: 1 Mix the no-bake cookie mounds Before mixing the cookies, arrange your plastic cake dowels on a sheet of parchment paper or waxed paper. In a large pan on the stove, mix and melt the sugar, cocoa powder, butter and milk over high heat. Boil for one minute. Remove from heat. Add the peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal. Mix well. 2 Form the no-bake cookie mounds With a teaspoon, scoop and drop your cookie mixture around the plastic dowels, forming small mounds about the same size as the Fudge Stripe cookies. Allow the cookie mounds to cool and harden completely before removing the plastic dowels. (Note: Don’t attempt to cut out the center of the cookie after it has cooled, as the hardened cookies will crack.) 3 Make the groundhogs Soften a Tootsie Roll with your hands or in a microwave for a few seconds. Mold the ears and head, and widen the body so that it has a base slightly larger than the hole of your Fudge Stripe cookies but will fit through the hole in the cookie mound. Secure the eyes and teeth with a tiny dab of chocolate frosting or chocolate candy melts. Make a nose with another dab of chocolate. Draw two black dots on the eyes with an edible food color marker. 4 Assemble the cookie Pipe a circle of chocolate frosting or chocolate candy melts onto the Fudge Stripe cookie. Place one Tootsie Roll groundhog over the center hole. Place a cookie mound over both, securing it to the frosted bottom cookie. Allow chocolate to harden. 5 Play with your food! Insert your pinky or index finger into the hole to make your groundhog move up and down. Optional: If you want to make it look like your groundhogs are coming out of a snow-covered mound, just sprinkle a little powdered sugar on top. Final product Bonus recipe Make a savory Groundhog Day dinner, too!