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The Easiest Sugar Skull Tutorial-Great For Kids!

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If you’ve been looking for a method to make a sugar skull with the kids—this is it! These simplified, super easy Sugar Skulls are basically foolproof and are perfect for little ones to decorate for Día de Muertos! {Last updated September 23, 2021}

Happy Day of the Dead friends!

Today I’ve got a really fun, not to mention, super easy sugar skulls project.

A Mexican sugar skull is made to honor a departed soul, typically with that person’s name written on their forehead. We place them on our altar or ofrenda for the Day of the Dead {Dia de los Muertos} holiday.

Make them with your children to celebrate the lives of our loved ones who have passed away. 

what is a sugar skull?

A little boy sitting at a wood table decorating a sugar skull with a blue marker.

Sugar skulls are one of the many ways we remember our dead relatives and are an important part of the Día de los Muertos celebrations in Mexico.

They are important because the more we celebrate and include our deceased loved ones in our lives, the stronger their spirits will stay with us.

Sugar art dates back to the 17th century when the Catholic friars introduced gravestone art to the indigenous people of Mexico. The indigenous people used what they had to create their own sculptures and something they had plenty of was sugar.

Even the colors that decorate the skulls have meaning. Yellow represents death, purple represents grief, and white represents purity and hope.

how to make a super easy sugar skull

Decorated sugar skulls sitting on a parchment-lined baking sheet next to markers and glitter glue.

With Day of the Dead just around the corner I thought I’d share how to make these super easy sugar skulls or calaveras.

I know a lot of blogs toss around terms like easy or simple and then you look at the list of ingredients and it includes things you’d have to drive to Cambodia for, “But once you get that home this recipe only takes 5 seconds!!!”

I swear to you that this little project is legitimately easy.

Sugar skulls sitting on top of a parchment covered baking sheet with a sack of sugar next to it and a plastic mold near by.

You can trust me because I do not have a crafty bone in my body and I actually enjoyed this activity. All you need to do is drive to Mexico and pick up a skull mold….just kidding.

You can buy them at a Latin market if you live in any largish-sized city. Or check out Mexican Sugar Skull. It is dedicated to all things sugar skull.

A little girl in a striped sweater sitting at a wood table decorating a sugar skull with blue glitter glue.

The molds I used were large molds, about the size of a softball with a flat back.

1 cup of sugar was enough to fill 1 of these molds. You can use this recipe to make a large sugar skull or adjust the size of the batch depending on the size of your mold and how many you want to make.

step 1:

Combine a cup of granulated sugar with a couple teaspoons of water in a large bowl.

step 2:

Rub the water into the sugar really good with your hands then pack it super tight into the mold.

step 3:

Flip the mold over onto a baking sheet and let dry in a low oven (like 200°F)  for 10 minutes.

step 4:

Let cool completely and decorate.

how to decorate a sugar skull

A partially decorated sugar skull sitting on top of a white piece of paper on a wood table.

As with any decorating project you can get as fancy as you please. If you love cake decorating or cookie decorating, this is your time to shine.

I wanted to stick to things the kids could easily use on their own, while simultaneously keeping the mess to a minimum. Therefore we used markers, glitter glue, and gems to decorate ours.

If you have older kids they may enjoy using sequins, paint, royal icing, or even colored foil to decorate the skulls. The important part is to use vibrant hues. You want them to be brightly colored.

Two small children sitting at a wood table with markers and craft supplies decorating sugar skulls.

how long does a sugar skull last?

A small girl decorating a sugar skull with red glitter glue.

A lot of recipes for the skulls call for meringue powder which I’ve never used but I assume makes for a harder, more durable finished product.

The skulls we made with just sugar and water worked beautifully and have now survived a long time with a very passionate two-year-old which is more than I can say about most things.

In fact, we tried these last year as well and the ones we made are still as solid as ever, even after being stored for a year. If they’ve held up this well, I’m completely sold on making them this much easier way.

what do skulls represent?

A small girl in a red and grey striped shirt holding up a sugar skull she just finished decorating.

Sugar skulls are a type of folk art made for Dia de Muertos or Day of the Dead celebrations. They represent a deceased loved one and are placed on the home Ofrenda or altar on All Saints Day.

Sculpted sugar forms, like sugar skulls, are called alfeñique and are popular in Italy, Spain, and Mexico.

when is día de los muertos celebrated?

A small child sitting at a wood table decorating a sugar skull with paint on a Q-tip with a bowl of raspberries next to him.

Similar to the Catholic holiday of All Souls Day, Day of the Dead is celebrated on the 1st and 2nd day in November.

The tradition is a combination of native Aztec rituals and Spanish Catholic influences. November 1 is All Saints Day in the Catholic religion and Dia de los Innocentes in the Mesoamerican tradition.

On this day deceased children may visit their families. November 2nd is All Souls Day in the Catholic religion as well as Dia de los Muertos. On this day adults are allowed a visit.  

These very special days are a celebration of life! We honor those lives who have come before us and our own special time here on Earth.

In Mexico City and around the country on these days, small sugar skulls are placed in people’s homes on their Ofrendas or in cemeteries on loved ones gravesites.

more fun ways to celebrate day of the dead

share your creations!

When you give this sugar skull method a try, I want to see how you decorated it and what you thought. Snap a pic and tag me on Instagram @holajalapeno and #holajalapeno so I can see or leave me a comment below (don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating) ! Also, don’t forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter, lots of good stuff there too!

These simplified, super easy Sugar Skulls are basically foolproof and are perfect for little ones to decorate for Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead.

Super Easy Sugar Skulls for Dia de los Muertos

Yield: 4-6 skulls depending on mold size
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

These simplified, super easy Sugar Skulls are basically foolproof and are perfect for little ones to decorate for Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Heat oven. Heat oven to 200°F.
  2. Mix sugar and water. Mix sugar and water together until sugar is damp throughout (this is easiest with your hands so you can really tell if all the granules have gotten wet).
  3. Press into molds. Press mixture into the mold taking time to press really well into all the crevices. Firmly pack it in as hard as you can.
  4. Flip out skulls. Very carefully invert the mold onto a parchment lined baking sheet, letting the sugar skull slip out.
  5. Bake until firm. Bake skull to harden the sugar for 10 minutes. Let cool completely, then decorate.

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Nutrition Information:

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 0Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 0mgCarbohydrates: 0gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

© Kate Ramos
Cuisine: Mexican / Category: Craft

In support of this small business, ¡Hola! Jalapeño earns revenue in a few different ways. Several sponsored posts are published each month. I also earn an affiliate commission on the sales of products I link to— there are a few of those links in this post. I only feature items I genuinely love and personally use on a regular basis. This commission is an arrangement between the retailer and ¡Hola! Jalapeño (readers never pay more for products). This income allows me to run the site. Thank you for reading!

Chocolate Churro Hearts with Boozy Salted Dulce de Leche

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Thanks to La Lechera for sponsoring this Valentine’s Day post. All ideas and opinions are my own.

 Where’s your head at this Valentine’s Day? Mine is somewhere over in left field, which is exactly why I’m getting a head start with these oh so precious chocolate churro hearts.

Chocolate Churro Hearts with Boozy Dulce de Leche Recipe

My baby boy loves him some churros and I’m going to admit here and now that I had never actually made them at home before I dove head first into testing this recipe. We overzealously tested the heck out of this recipe and continue to make it…for testing purposes of course.

I was looking for some fun inspiration for Valentine’s Day when I came across this recipe for Mini Churros with Dulce de Leche on the La Lechera Pinterest board. They looked easy enough, I had no idea churros are basically fried pate a choux—you know the dough used to make eclairs and profiteroles—read: no mixer required. I was sold.

Chocolate Churro Hearts with Boozy Dulce de Leche Recipe

Chocolate + Eggs

I wanted to bump up the Valentine’s factor and make chocolate churros, which required nothing more than adding some cocoa powder to the dough. The eggs on the other hand require some discussion.

The first few times I made the recipe I added 2 eggs, which made gloriously crispy churros with perfectly eggy middles but were also impossible to form into any shape whatsoever. The final recipe calls for only 1 egg making it firm enough to form into the adorable heart shapes but the result is not as soft and doughy in the middle.

Chocolate Churro Hearts with Boozy Dulce de Leche Recipe

You will have to choose your destiny with this one; cuteness over texture. The chocolate churro hearts are still delicious but are missing the spongy middle of a perfect churro. If you want to add the other egg, just pipe the dough directly into the hot oil using scissors to cut off 4-5 inch ropes of dough as they drop in (it is much easier than it sounds, you can do this).

If you want to make the chocolate churros into heart shapes you will need some muscle to pipe the dough out, if you pipe it while it is still warm this will help. Use a re-useable piping bag if at all possible. I tried it a few times with those disposable piping bags and had to triple up on them (putting three bags on top of each other) to make them sturdy enough to handle the pressure of the dough.

What’s With The Lard?

If you read down, you’ll notice I used vegetable oil AND lard to fry the churros. If you have access to lard, I highly recommend this whenever you deep fry anything from chips to chicharrones. The combination of vegetable oil and lard has the best flavor and fries things more quickly making them less greasy and crispier.

Chocolate Churro Hearts with Boozy Dulce de Leche Recipe

Dulce de Leche Sauce

Traditionally churros are served with a rich chocolate sauce but with the chocolate inside the churro already, I made a simple boozy sauce from La Lechera Dulce de Leche.

I added a splash of my favorite winter liqueur, Cuarenta Y Tres or Licor 43. This is a Spanish liqueur with flavors of citrus and vanilla and I highly recommend keeping a bottle around to add to a shot of espresso every once in a while. Other boozy options for the Dulce de Leche sauce would be dark rum, brandy, or even Kahlua. If you want to skip the alcohol all together you can loosen up the dulce de leche with 1/4 cup of milk.

By definition, chocolate churro hearts are best served minutes out of the oil, almost too hot to eat, crusted with cinnamon and sugar, a generous swath of dulce de leche, and shared with the ones you love. If you happen to make it to proper table so much the better—we never made it passed the kitchen counter.

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Chocolate Churro Hearts with Boozy Dulce de Leche

Chocolate Churro Hearts with Boozy Dulce de Leche Recipe from @holajalapeno
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Celebrate your love this Valentine’s Day with crispy chocolate churro hearts dipped in boozy salted dulce de leche sauce. Recipe adapted from La Lechera

  • Author: Kate
  • Prep Time: 30 mins
  • Cook Time: 10 mins
  • Total Time: 40 mins
  • Yield: 14 hearts 1x

Ingredients

Scale

For the Churros:

  • 1 cup water
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 quart vegetable oil, for frying
  • 1 cup lard, for frying (optional)

For the Dulce de Leche Sauce:

  • 1 (13.4 oz) can La Lechera Dulce de Leche
  • 1/4 cup Licor 43
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Equipment:

  • Piping Bag
  • Large star tip (preferably a #8 tip)

Instructions

To make the Churros:

  1. Combine water, 1/4 cup vegetable oil, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla in a 4 quart saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt.
  2. Remove from heat, add flour and cocoa and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Let cool slightly (about 5 minutes) then add egg and beat into the mixture until fully incorporated.
  3. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat silicone sheet and spray with baking spray. Transfer dough to the piping bag fitted with the star attachment and pipe into a 10-inch long rope on the prepared sheet. Bend rope to form a heart shape, squeezing the two ends together so they stick and creating a point at the other end. Repeat with the remaining dough.
  4. Combine vegetable oil and lard in a large Dutch oven or deep cast iron pot and attach a deep fat fry thermometer to the side.
  5. Line a baking sheet with a couple layers of paper towels. Combine granulated sugar and cinnamon in a large, wide bowl.
  6. Once oil reaches 375°F add 2-3 churro hearts at a time and fry until crisped, about 2 minutes. Flip and continue to fry 1 more minute on the other side. Watch the oil temperature and raise or lower the heat to keep it as steady as possible.
  7. Remove churros with a bamboo skimmer or tongs to the paper towel-lined sheet. Let cool about a minute then dip in the cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat both sides. Set back on the baking sheet to cool. Repeat with remaining churro hearts.

To make the Dulce de Leche Sauce:

  1. Combine dulce de leche, Licor 43, and salt in a small saucepan. Heat, stirring occasionally until sauce is smooth and well combined. Remove from heat, transfer to a serving bowl and serve warm with the churros.

 

Smoky S’mores Trail Mix

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We are knee deep in road trip season. Up to our elbows in camping time. Hiking, biking, and all that outdoorsy stuff is happening, like now. So what better time than to have a new trail mix recipe to take along for the ride?

Smoky S'mores Trail Mix Recipe

The standard peanut, raisins, and M&M’s are good (although I prefer mine in cookie form) but let’s class up the joint for a minute. Let’s combine the two foods most associated with camping into one big bowl of yum—and I’m not talking about beanie weenies people.

Smoky S'mores Trail Mix Recipe

Let’s take:

  1. Roasted Salted Pistachios
  2. Graham Cereal
  3. Smoked Almonds
  4. Mini Marshmallows
  5. Cacao nibs
  6. Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans
  7. Roasted Salted Macadamia Nuts

Toss them in a bowl and make s’mores we can hold in our hands without our fingers sticking to each other or the dirt and grass that always somehow is at arm’s length when you’re mid s’more.

Smoky S'mores Trail Mix Recipe

Everything you see here was purchased in the bulk section of my local Whole Foods. (words I’ve been unable to utter for 7 years, PS). But if you can’t find cacao nibs near you, you can always order them online from Nuts.com or substitute chocolate chips or even good ‘ol M&M’s.

National Trail Mix Day is right around the corner (August 31st), what’s your favorite combo?

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Smoky S’mores Trail Mix Recipe

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★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Graham Crackers, chocolate, marshmallows, and smoke; all the tasty requirements that makes s’mores so irresistible in trail mix form. I used Cascadian Farm Organic Graham Crunch Cereal for this recipe but you can use Golden Grahams or even Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 4 cups (10–12 Servings) 1x

Ingredients

Scale

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a big bowl and enjoy. Store any leftovers in a tightly-sealed container for up to a week.

Soft Ricotta Banana Bread Recipe

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Soft, rich slices of sweet ricotta banana bread made with creamy butter, ripe bananas, vanilla, a pinch of salt, and ricotta cheese makes for one of the all time BEST baked good.

Piece of banana bread spread with butter with a bite taken out of it on parchment paper.

We’ve now been here a little over two weeks and have more or less moved in. A few boxes remain unpacked and will probably stay that way.

Hiro has learned to ride a bike and Louisa is mastering the art of the jump rope.

She will turn eight years old next week and I feel a great sense of gratitude that we are once again throwing her birthday parties on her home turf.

I know it’s a bit cliché but I remember that cold and foggy San Francisco afternoon when she was born like yesterday and now she strides into eight like nobody’s business.

It makes me not want to celebrate her birthday at all as if that would stop time, but celebrate we will, once again with our friends who have missed the past seven celebrations.

The new house is starting to feel more like home, but baking some banana bread never hurts the effort.

Butter in a butter dish on a piece of folded parchment paper next to a piece of bread.

how to make ricotta banana bread

This is such a simple one bowl recipe, it takes 20 minutes max to stir together. Here’s how to make it:

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange an oven rack in the middle. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan or you can also use a long bread loaf pan like I did which is 13.5 x 5.5 inches.
  2. Pour the melted butter into a large bowl then add bananas and mash along with the egg.
  3. Mix in the ricotta, sugar, and vanilla then the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until the dry ingredients are combined.
  4. If you’d like to add chocolate chips, stir in anywhere from 1/2 cup to 1 1/2 cups of them at this point.
  5. Spread batter evenly in the pan and place in the preheated oven.
  6. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about an hour.

what’s different about this banana bread recipe with ricotta cheese

I made this ricotta banana bread recipe for the first time a few months ago when I had some ricotta cheese lingering in the refrigerator.

I took my favorite banana bread recipe and adjusted it here and there to make up for the moisture and fat from the cheese.

I love the way the ricotta adds a richness without being overpowering.

The banana flavor still rings true and is prominent but the cheese adds a tenderness and delicate soft texture that makes this bread extra special.

A loaf of banana bread in a loaf ban with a piece of parchment paper hanging over the sides.

how to freeze ripe bananas for banana bread

This banana and ricotta bread is for brown bananas. The riper they are the more banana flavor there will be.

If I have some bananas that are too ripe to eat sitting on the counter, I will peel them and slice them then lay the slices in a single layer on a large plate or tray and freeze them.

Once frozen, they can be scooped up and placed in a Ziplock until you are ready to bake bread.

I always write how many bananas are in the bag on the outside because I know I’ll never remember.

A piece of banana bread spread with butter on a piece of parchment paper.

tips for success

This banana bread with ricotta cheese is best when made with whole milk ricotta.

If all you can find is low-fat or part-skim that’ll work but the flavor won’t be as rich.

Also, I lined the loaf pan with parchment paper which makes it a snap to pull out of the pan, but sliding a knife around the outside and popping it out of an un-lined pan works well too.

Just make sure to grease the pan well with baking spray first, especially if you aren’t going to use parchment paper.

This banana bread toasted the next day, smeared with melty butter and a tall glass of frosty Mexican green juice is a perfect breakfast.

variations

Does ricotta chocolate banana bread also sound good? If you are a nut or chocolate fan, here’s how to make this Ricotta Banana Bread with a few different additions. Add 1 cup of any of the following:

  • Chopped toasted walnuts
  • Chocolate Chips
  • Chopped toasted pecans
  • Chopped bittersweet chocolate

wanna spend the weekend baking?

Because, I do! I really can’t think of a better way to relax. Here are some of my favorite joy-inducing sweet treats:

this is one of my most loved recipes! here’s what you’re saying:

“@holajalapeno I’ve made this twice now!” – Rachel

“Made this, it was great. Excellent recipe!” -Layla

“It turned out delicious.” -Hana

clean up tips

Need help with the clean up? Check out these 6 Kitchen Cleaning Hacks that really work, and take less than 5 minutes.

bored at home? bake some banana bread!

When you do please let me know by snapping a pic and tagging me on Instagram @holajalapeno and #holajalapeno so I can see or leave me a comment below (don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating) !

Also, don’t forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter, lots of good stuff there too!

Rich banana bread made with butter, ricotta cheese, and ripe sweet bananas. #bananabread

Soft Ricotta Banana Bread Recipe

Yield: 10
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Soft, rich slices of sweet ricotta banana bread made with creamy butter, ripe bananas, vanilla, a pinch of salt, and ricotta cheese.

Ingredients

Instructions

Prep oven and pan. Heat oven to 350°F and arrange a rack on the bottom. Grease and line a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.

Mash liquid ingredients together. Pour melted butter into a large bowl. Add bananas and mash into a pulp with a potato masher. Add egg and beat until smooth.

Mix in remaining ingredients. Add sugar, ricotta, and vanilla and stir to incorporate. Add remaining ingredients and stir just until all flour is incorporated, don't overmix. The batter will be on the thick side. 

Bake. Scrape batter into prepared pan and place on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 55-65 minutes.

Let cool. Remove to a cooling rack and let sit at least 20 minutes before removing from the pan.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 28Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 23mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 2g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

© Kate Ramos
Cuisine: American / Category: baked goods

PIN IT FOR LATER!Soft Ricotta Banana Bread Recipe #bananabread #ricottabananabread #softbananabread #Easterrecipes

In support of this small business, ¡Hola! Jalapeño earns revenue in a few different ways. Several sponsored posts are published each month. I also earn an affiliate commission on the sales of products I link to— there are a few of those links in this post. I only feature items I genuinely love and personally use on a regular basis. This commission is an arrangement between the retailer and ¡Hola! Jalapeño (readers never pay more for products). This income allows me to run the site. Thank you for reading!

Sugar Cookie Hot Chocolate

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We got our first good snow a few days back. It has since melted in the incredibly unusual 50 degree weather, but it was lovely while it happened.

Sugar Cookie Hot Chocolate Recipe

The coldness and darkness of winter really gets me down—but not the snow. I can do without the temperature being -35°F at the height of the day (that’s not an exaggeration, check back with me somewhere around February 9th and I’ll tell you all about it…ad nauseam) but as long as I’m not trying to go somewhere, I like a nice furious blizzard.

And so do the kids.

Sugar Cookie Hot Chocolate Recipe

It had snowed all night and we woke up to a wintery weather wonderland. Hiro requested to be fetched from preschool via snow sled and how could I deny such a request. It continued to snow throughout the day and after Louisa got home from school we bundled in our layers and headed to the nearest hill. The kids climbed and sled and threw snow balls and I just stood there enjoying that peculiar strain of muffled silence that comes from delicate flakes of ice falling to the ground.

Sugar Cookie Hot Chocolate Recipe

Every mother know the best way to get your kids to come inside once you’ve gotten too cold is to offer up some hot chocolate. I’ve been known to make the lazy lady’s hot chocolate (chocolate syrup + milk) but because it’s the holidays and everything this time of year should include sprinkles, here’s another (only very slightly more complicated) version to try.

Sugar Cookie Hot Chocolate Recipe

It wanted to capture the flavors of a decadent Christmas sugar cut-out cookie so I added a smidgen of Fiori di Sicilia, an extract from King Arthur Flour that combines hints of vanilla and citrus but you can substitute lemon extract or even fresh lemon zest if you want.

And don’t forget the whipped cream!

 

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Sugar Cookie Hot Chocolate Recipe

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To make this drink extra cute, dip the rims of the cups in water and then dip into colored sugar to coat the rim in sprinkles.

  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 5 mins
  • Total Time: 10 mins
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 cups cold heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 cups whole milk
  • 12 ounces white chocolate chips
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia or lemon extract
  • Sprinkles (optional)

Instructions

  1. Combine cream and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip until cream forms big, fluffy peaks. Refrigerate if you’re not going to use right away.
  2. Combine milk, white chocolate, almond extract, and Fiori di Sicilia in a large saucepan. Heat over medium heat, whisking until steam is rising from the pan and chocolate is melted and dissolved.
  3. Pour into cups and top with whipped cream. Dust with sprinkles before serving, if desired.

One More Thing

Did you love this post? I want to know! Leave me a comment and snap a photo for Instagram. Tag @holajalapeno so I can see your beautiful creation! Your feedback is super important to me. If you run into trouble shoot me a message on Instagram and I’ll walk you through it.

Also, don’t forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter, lots of good stuff there too!

How to Make Paper Flowers for Day of the Dead

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Step-by-step instructions on how to make paper flowers, the beautiful decorations popular in Mexico for all sorts of celebrations. An easy craft for anyone!

Day of the Dead is coming up on Sunday and Monday. We set up our alter last weekend and are beginning to decorate it with candles, incense, and pictures of loved ones who have passed.

Today I will place a little jar of salt on the alter to represent the earth and to cleanse the spirit.

The final piece will be the colorful addition of large paper flowers.

In Mexico, enormous fresh marigolds in red, orange, and yellow are used to decorate the graves and alters but tissue paper flowers are also popular and are often strung together to make elaborate garlands which are draped overhead and along the edges of the gravestones.

Colorful tissue paper flowers in yellow, light blue, orange, and purple.

an easy paper flower tutorial

Now DIY paper flower tutorials can be elaborate. If you’ve ever watched a Lia Griffith video tutorial of her rose paper flower you know what I mean.

As much as I love looking at a giant crepe paper rose, it’s not exactly something I want to make. I mean, I don’t even know what a cutting file is!

This step-by-step tutorial is just the opposite.

It requires no cutting machine, no templates, and no hot glue. Just an easy fun paper craft that even you little ones can do.

Colorful tissue paper flowers sitting on an altar for Day of the Dead.

I am not, not, not a crafter so believe me when I tell you they are very simple to make.

supplies

Beautiful paper flowers require very little and are really inexpensive to make.

All you need is

15 sheets of tissue paper and 15 pipe cleaners should make about 15 flowers.

how to make paper flowers

Tissue paper for making paper flowers sitting on a Day of the Dead tablecloth with scissors and pipe cleaners.

Step One:

Take one sheet of tissue paper and cut it in half, then cut that piece in half two more times until you have several sheets that are about 8-inches long x 4-inches wide.

This doesn’t matter too much—the bigger the sheets, the larger the flowers. You can use this method to make medium and large flowers. For medium flowers cut the pieces in half three more times.

For giant paper flowers, use 8 full sheets of tissue paper. Basically large papers equal large flowers.

Stack 8 pieces of cut tissue paper together (you can use all the same color or multiple colors).

Piece of tissue paper on a Calavera tablecloth with scissors and pipe cleaner.

Step 2:

Starting on the short end make a 1/2-inch thick fold.

Girl sitting at a table folding light blue tissue paper on a Calavera tablecloth.

Step 3:

Flip the tissue paper over so the folded side is down and then take the folded piece up and fold it again so now the fold is on the top, like an accordion. I wonder how many times I can use the word fold in a sentence, hmmmm.

Girl folding light blue tissue paper on top of a Calavera tablecloth with a pair of scissors.

Step 4:

Keep working your way up, folding back and forth until all the tissue paper is folded.

Purple tissue paper folded on a Day of the Dead tablecloth decorated with Calaveras.

Step 5:

Bend the pipe cleaner around the middle of the stack and twist to secure. This will be your stem.

Aqua-colored tissue paper folded with a green pipe cleaner tied around it.

Step 6:

Cut each edge, either in a triangular shape or rounded.

Girl cutting the edge of a folded piece of tissue paper with blue scissors.
Close up of a corner of the folded tissue paper sitting on a Day of the Dead tablecloth.

Step 7:

Then fan out the paper.

A folded piece of purple tissue paper secured with a green pipe cleaner.

Step 8:

Now pull one layer of tissue paper at a time towards the middle, carefully peeling the pieces of paper apart to create large sized petals.

A girl's hand unfolding a purple piece of tissue paper to create a paper flower.
A girl's hand unfolding a aqua piece of tissue paper with a green pipe cleaner.
A girl's hand unraveling a folded piece of tissue paper to create a paper flower.

Continue with the remaining pieces of colorful paper to make as many beautiful flowers as you like.

You can even make gigantic ones to hang from the ceiling using full sheets of tissue paper.

A girl in a purple and gray-stripped shirt holding the finished paper flower.

And that’s it! I have so much fun making these, I might even try construction paper flowers next—but don’t hold your breath.

For those of you celebrating Día de los Muertos, I hope your hearts are full of celebration this weekend.

Cherish these days; share family stories, eat Pan de Muerto, and leave a flower or two for those who can no longer walk with us on this earth, but who are waiting to show us the glorious world on the other side.

A bouquet of tissue paper flowers sitting on an altar for Day of the Dead.

more day of the dead fun

Don’t miss these other fun Día de los Muertos crafts and activities to try with your friends and family.

super easy sugar skulls

Sugar skulls on a parchment-lined baking sheet and a plastic mold filled with sugar next to it. Next to that is a bowl full of sugar.

These simplified, super easy Sugar Skulls are basically foolproof and are perfect for little ones to decorate for Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead.

marigold smudge sticks

A marigold smudge stick smoking on a small ceramic plate sitting on a wood table.

How to make marigold smudge sticks to cleanse your environment and prepare your home to welcome loved ones for Day of the Dead celebrations.

10 day of the dead altar essentials

A blue ceramic calavera sitting next to orange marigolds on a Day of the Dead Altar next to a white larger calavera in the background.

A Day of the Dead Altar is the focal point of holiday celebrations. Everything from candles to incense, Papel Picado to even Pan de Muerto can be ordered online. Here are 10 essentials to order now to prepare your Ofrenda by October 31.

chocolate peanut butter calaveras

A gold platter with chocolate calavera or skulls for day of the dead. Flowers surround the skulls and the platter is sitting on a white tablecloth.

Calaveras or skulls are a traditional symbol of the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead. These peanut butter calaveras are like chocolate peanut butter cups!

these paper flowers also make beautiful cinco de mayo decorations

Check out our Cinco de Mayo Party Guide for lots of DIY decor ideas, cocktails, and Cinco de Mayo recipes.

day of the dead recipes to try!

decorate and share!

Give these paper flowers a try and don’t forget to share with me by snapping a pic and tagging me on Instagram @holajalapeno and #holajalapeno so I can see or leave me a comment below (don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating) ! Also, don’t forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter, lots of good stuff there too!

In support of this small business, ¡Hola! Jalapeño earns revenue in a few different ways. Several sponsored posts are published each month. I also earn an affiliate commission on the sales of products I link to— there are a few of those links in this post. I only feature items I genuinely love and personally use on a regular basis. This commission is an arrangement between the retailer and ¡Hola! Jalapeño (readers never pay more for products). This income allows me to run the site. Thank you for reading!

Mexican Hot Chocolate Waffle Iron Sandwich

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My son shoved a wad of gum in his eye the other day. We were about halfway into our road trip from Grand Forks when I noticed my normally rambunctious but all the sudden curiously quiet child making pulling motions from the top section of his face.

Mexican Hot Chocolate

I turned around to see his eye sealed shut by a spider web of pink bubble gum. I pulled over at the next exit and got out of the car. The Professor (who happened to be following us) pulls up behind and got out too. “What’s going on?” he asks. I will preface my response by saying as a parent you find yourself saying a lot of sentences made up of words you never would assume go together, like for example, “Hiro’s eye is sealed shut with gum.” We gave each other the look which can only be described as the why did we do this to ourselves?

Consider this a warning to all you happily married childless couples out there—don’t ever have children. No, no, no, I’m kidding, they’re great. All my stories would be about me if I didn’t have children (read: boring). Just think about it long and hard before you make that leap, it took about 3 days before all the gum was gone from that child’s eyelashes, is that something you want to deal with?

Mexican Hot

On the upside, children allow for lots of guilt-free consumption of food you’d normally never make (read: bread + chocolate + waffle iron). This snack has been a standard in our kitchen for a few months now. Abuelita Mexican chocolate is a must here. I know you’ve seen it on grocery store shelves in the “ethnic” aisle, it has that sweet, bun-wearing grandma drinking hot chocolate on the front. Anyway, its milk chocolate flavored with cinnamon and chile and meant to be melted into milk to make Mexican hot chocolate but when you melt it between two layers of bread it becomes the chocolatey, cinnamon toast of your dreams.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Waffle

I can see lots of iterations on the chocolate waffle iron sandwich being good. Off the top of my head, I’m thinking banana, peanut butter, Nutella, toffee, marshmallows…..Louisa says sprinkles, see kids are good for something.

 

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Mexican Hot Chocolate Waffle Iron Sandwich Recipe

A Chocolate Waffle Iron Sandwich is a fun snack: Chocolate sandwiched between two slices of buttered country bread & toasted in a waffle iron until melted.
Print Recipe

A Chocolate Waffle Iron Sandwich is a fun snack: Chocolate sandwiched between two slices of buttered country bread & toasted in a waffle iron until melted.

  • Author: Kate
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 3 mins
  • Total Time: 8 mins
  • Yield: 1 sandwich 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 slices bread
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/4 cup coarsely chopped Mexican chocolate (preferably Abuelita brand)
  • pinch cinnamon
  • pinch ground chipotle chile powder

Instructions

  1. Heat waffle iron.
  2. Spread butter on one side of both slices of bread. Flip bread over and sprinkle chocolate all over one slice. Sprinkle with cinnamon and chile powder, then top with the other slice of bread, butter-side out.
  3. Place in waffle iron and close, pressing down a bit. Let cook until bread is toasted and chocolate is melted, about 3 minutes.
  4. Serve immediately.

One More Thing

Did you love this post? I want to know! Leave me a comment and snap a photo for Instagram. Tag @holajalapeno so I can see your beautiful creation! Your feedback is super important to me. If you run into trouble shoot me a message on Instagram and I’ll walk you through it.

Also, don’t forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter, lots of good stuff there too!

 

Jicama Pops

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Today we are celebrating my dear friend Catherine with a surprise virtual baby shower!!!!

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In honor of her third beautiful baby a bunch of us food bloggers are getting together to throw a party full of naturally vibrant, colorful food. Catherine works tirelessly on her blog Weelicious to make family-friendly food that is bursting with flavor—not food coloring. She is constantly coming up with genius ideas for dinner, breakfast, and snack time that are easy and approachable and make me think “why the heck haven’t I thought of that?!!!”

So when it was my turn to make something for her, I wanted to come up with a recipe that I know her kids would love, that is healthy, easy, and fun. I thought of all the street vendors in Mexico that gather around the local schools and sell fresh fruit cups and all assortments of vegetables-on-a-stick as after school snacks (a tradition I’m highly jealous of, btw).

Jicama Paletas

My favorite has always been the jicama pops. The thick slices are expertly speared on wooden sticks, drenched in lime juice then sprinkled with Tajín seasoning. They are crunchy, juicy, slightly sweet, and surprisingly satisfying considering you are essentially eating a raw vegetable on a stick.

Jicama Pops

If I’m making these for the kids I use mild chile powder or no chile powder at all. I like mine with chipotle chile powder as it has that slight smokiness and if you live near a Mexican market and can get your hands on some Tajin that too makes for an excellent sprinkle.

Jicama Popsicles

These pops would be fun for a real baby shower or 4th of July as would all of the other colorful recipes from the other links below. Congratulations Catherine!! I’m so excited for you and can’t wait to see that baby!

paletas de jicama

Other colorful treats:

Pink/Red

Mini Strawberry Rosewater Pavlovas from Beard and Bonnet
Pink Lemonade Thumbprint Cookies from Fifteen Spatulas
Skillet Cherry Pie from FoodieCrush

Blue
Roasted Blueberry and Lemony Yogurt Popsicles from Tasty Yummies

Yellow/Orange
Frozen Lemonade with Rose Water from The Lemon Bowl
Grilled Carrots with Mint Almond Pesto from Heather Christo
Persian Saffron Pudding from Tori Avey

White
S’more Brownies from What’s Gaby Cooking

Green
Roasted Broccoli Pesto on Pumpernickel from Bev Cooks
Farmer’s Market Vietnamese Steak Salad from Alex T Cooks
Peachy Pineapple Green Smoothie from 100 Days of Real Food
Rainbow Smoothie from Daisy At Home

And of course…..Chocolate
Chocolate Beet Cake from I Am Baker
Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting from Deliciously Organic

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Jicama Pops Recipe

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

You can prep these pops up to 3 hours in advance by peeling, slicing, inserting the popsicle stick, and coating with lime juice. Place pops in a container, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use. Sprinkle with salt and chile powder right before serving.

  • Author: Kate Ramos
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 4–6 pops depending on the size of jicama 1x
  • Category: snacks
  • Method: no cook
  • Cuisine: Mexican
  • Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

Scale

Instructions

  1. Using a Y-peeler or sharp paring knife peel the tough skin off the jicama, being careful to keep its round shape as much as possible.
  2. Cut jicama horizontally into 1/2-inch thick slices. Carefully insert a popsicle stick into one side (you may have to cut a small slit with a paring knife first to get the stick started). Repeat with remaining slices.
  3. Lay all the slices jicama pops out on a cutting board and squeeze the lime all over on both sides. Sprinkle both sides with Tajín. Serve immediately.

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For posterity’s sake

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For whatever reason, last Saturday I set about taking pictures of the kids. Not the get-together-and-say-cheese type, but close-ups. I wanted to capture the details that are most likely to be forgotten, the things I’m mostly likely to take for granted. The far less glamorous (but just as beautiful) aspects of day-to-day parenting. Here’s what Saturday, June 6, 2015 looked like.

7am: Somehow Louisa woke-up with her tap shoes on.

7am

8am: Peanut butter and jelly on a hot dog bun.

8am

9am: Bike ride to Papa’s studio.

9am

9:30am: Someone got a splinter.

9-30

9:45am: Hiro wins the right to push the elevator button (Louisa gets to push the one inside).

9-45

10am: Time-out for fighting.

10am

11am: Flav-Or-Ice Snow Cones.

11am

2pm: Back downtown to watch the Soap Box Derby.

2pm

3pm: Louisa helps Hiro ride his bike back home.

3pm

4pm: Picking out flowers at the greenhouse.

4pm

5pm: Time to plant.

5pm

7pm: Going for one last ride.

7-30

8:30pm: Going for one last ride.

8-30

Ginger Mint Cooler

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St. Patty’s Day is tomorrow!!

Ginger Mint Cooler
Ginger Mint Cooler with Raspberries

We don’t really celebrate this holiday but if you do…..Happy St. Patrick’s Day!! It’s fun! It’s like Cinco de Mayo for Irish people.

Ginger Mint Cooler {St. Patrick's Day Drink}
Ginger Mint Cooler for St. Patty's Day
Ginger Mint Cooler {St. Patrick's Day}

One St. Patrick’s Day my sister and I got schnockered on Irish Car Bombs and then went antiquing with my parents—I was literally like a bull in a china shop. If you want to have a nice little drink to celebrate the green holiday but don’t want to make a complete ass out of yourself, then I have something wonderful for you. This fun, nonalcoholic drink is made perfectly green by blending fresh mint with fizzy, sweet ginger ale. It is deliciously refreshing and perfect for a warm, almost spring day.

Ginger Mint Cooler {A St. Patty's Day Drink}

Speaking of spring, let’s talk about our gardens, shall we? Do tell, what you are going to plant? What didn’t make the cut this year? Are you trying something new? Here’s what going on in my garden:

New this year

  • Green Zebra Tomatoes
  • Dr. Wyche’s Yellow Tomatoes
  • Rosso Sicilian Tomatoes
  • Tasty Evergreen Tomatoes
  • Mexico Midget Tomatoes
  • Black Krim Tomatoes
  • Rouge Vif D’Etampes {Cinderella Pumpkins}
  • Aji Cristal Chiles
  • Golden Bantam Yellow Sweet Corn
  • Lime Basil
  • Lettuce Leaf Basil
  • Evening Sun Sunflowers
  • Waltham Butternut Squash
  • Rosa Bianca Eggplant
  • Green Husk Tomatillos
  • Chocolate Beauty Sweet Pepper
  • Purple Potatoes

Making a Comeback

  • Giant From Italy Parsley
  • Yellow Summer Squash
  • Strawberries
  • Chives
  • Spinach
  • Jalapeños
  • Cilantro
  • Black Beauty Zucchini
  • Mint
  • Lavender
  • Rhubarb
  • Zinnias
  • Petunias
  • Nasturtiums

Didn’t Make the Cut

  • Mixed greens
  • Tarragon
  • Cantaloupe
  • Yellow Watermelon
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Delicata Squash
  • Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin
  • Sweet Peas
  • Green Beans
  • Cayenne Chiles
  • Cauliflower

Do you have any experience with these new-to-me crops? I’d love to hear any tips you might have. I can’t wait to hear about your gardens to, so please leave me a comment and let me know!

Have a great week!

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Ginger Mint Cooler

Print Recipe

This is a fun drink for the kids on St. Patty’s Day, add a shot of dark rum to make it special for adults too.

  • Yield: 1 drink. 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 5 ounces ginger ale
  • 1–2 sprigs fresh mint, plus extra for garnish
  • Ice
  • Raspberries, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Blend 3 ounces of ginger ale with mint leaves from 1 sprig of mint (or more if you want more mint flavor).
  2. Strain over ice into a tall glass. Fill with ginger ale and decorate with raspberries and extra mint.

The Sunday 10 | 10 Easy Classroom Valentines

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Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching and for all of you with school-age kids that means so is the big Valentines Day party. The traditional message hearts are cute or you could go the store bought Valentines Card route but here are ten adorable ideas from some very creative crafting bloggers that might be even more fun and (as long as you have a color printer) pretty easy to pull off.

1. I’m Nuts About You Mason Jars from Lil’ Luna

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Nuts About You Jars from Lil’ Luna

 

2. Bag of Chips from Eighteen25

q&cheesy chips

Bag of Chips from Eighteen25

 

3. Pink Heart Cake Pops from A Mummy Too

heart-cake-pops

Pink Heart Cake Pops from A Mummy Too

 

4. Love Bugs from Shanty 2 Chic

Free-Printable-Valentines-pin2

Love Bugs from Shanty 2 Chic

 

5. Valentines Day Bookmarks from Lu Bird Baby

valentines

Valentine’s Day Bookmarks from Lu Bird Baby

 

6. Tiny Animal Valentines from Sweet C’s Designs

Tiny-Animal-Valentines-just-print-and-add-a-toy-to-these-adorable-non-candy-valentine-treats

Tiny Animal Valentines from Sweet C’s Designs

 

7. Whoopee It’s Valentines Day from Paging Supermom

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Whoopee! It’s Valentines Day from Paging Supermom

 

8. Friendship Bracelets from Dandee

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Friendship Bracelets from Dandee

 

9. Heartfelt Valentines from Parents

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Heartfelt Valentines from Parents

 

10. Tic Tac Toe Valentines from Nest of Posies

XOXO-Tic-Tac-Toe-Valentine-Cards

Tic Tac Toe Valentines from Nest of Posies

 

Sunday Rocks|10 Best Children’s Books for Christmas

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This has been a great year for picture books. It was really hard to come up with the list of our top 10, but with some help from the kids we finally whittled it down to the ones we read over and over and over (and over) again.

All these books have fun (and in most cases gorgeous) illustrations and extraordinary writing. Not all of them are new this year (although most are). We tried to pick our most current favorites but some that were written in the last two or three years were just too good to pass up.

If you are in need of a kid-friendly gift this Christmas any book on this list will be truly loved.

Goldilocks and The Three Dinosaurs

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems • It was tough to pick our most favoritest Mo Willems book. The Pigeon Needs a Bath is his most recent book and That is Not a Good Idea from 2013 is pretty amazing too. But when you find your whole family quoting from a book you know you’re on to something good. Willems rendition of the classic Goldilocks story is hysterical and clever and silly and all the things that make his books so loved.

10 Best Children's Books

Journey by Aaron Becker • A 2014 Caldecott Honor Book, Journey, is whimsical and magical and a book you can easily lose yourself in. The illustrations are beautiful and intricate and come together to create a story that can only be limited by the imagination.

Black Dog by Levi Pinfold

Black Dog by Levi Pinfold • This book is one of our all-time favorites and one I have discussed here in the past. Its imagery and text encompass the idea that fear only grows unless confronted and whatever it is usually isn’t worth being frightened over in the first place.

Extra Yarn

Extra Yarn by Mac Barrnett, Illustrated by Jon Klassen • Mac Barrnett and Jon Klassen are like picture book gold. They have written and illustrated some our most beloved books and Extra Yarn is no different. It is a story that shows how some ordinary yarn can turn a cold, colorless town into something extraordinary.

And Then It's Spring

And Then It’s Spring by Julie Fogliano, Illustrated by Erin E. Stead • If you live in a cold climate like we do where winter seems to last forever then you will identify with Julie Fogliano’s tender story about the anticipation of spring.

Have you Seen my Dragon

Have You Seen My Dragon by Steve Light • This is no ordinary counting book. The story takes you on an intricately illustrated adventure to find a young boy’s dragon counting everything from hot dogs to traffic lights along the way.

A House in the Woods

A House in the Woods by Inga Moore • We love this story but the pictures…the pictures! Moore’s illustrations are so lovely and inviting just looking at the book brightens your day. This book is like a ray of sunshine that warms your heart.

My No, No, No Day!

My No, No, No Day by Rebecca Patterson • This book is a favorite of my 2-year-old who maybe, just maayyyybbbee, identifies with its main character, Bella, who let’s face it; is pissed off.

Queen Victoria's Bathing Machine

Queen Victoria’s Bathing Machine by Gloria Whelan, Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter • This delightful book weaves history into a beautifully written and illustrated tale of a frustrated and sweltering monarch who just wants to go for a swim.

Silver Buttons

Silver Buttons by Bob Graham • What happens in a moment? This masterful picture book aims to find out. The entire book takes place in the moment a baby takes his first step and shows everything that is happening in a city during that split-second momentous occasion.

 

Bandera Paletas {Grape-Lime-Strawberry Pops} + Niño

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It’s book time again!!! This is the monthly post where I write about what hot kid’s lit has been burning up the bookshelves in our house and give you a great recipe that goes along with it.

My friends over at Zoobean always give me the best book recommendations and if you have any little people in your life I can’t urge you enough to head on over there and check them out. You can get curated, handpicked books and apps especially suited for your child either through a digital subscription or the real deal sent directly to your house. It’s brilliant!

Bandera Paletas {Grape-Lime-Strawberry Pops}

I’m so excited for this month’s book + recipe because they are both Lucha-rific! If you know anything about our house, than you know we are BIG into Lucha libre, so when Hiro got Niño Wrestles the World by Yuyi Morales I knew it would be love at first fight.

How can you resist a kid that strips down to his chones during his sisters’ nap time and wrestles imaginary villains with expert moves like the tickle tackle and the skull-cracking puzzle. He even escapes the Diablo’s grasp by creating a slippery popsicle slick from his drippy, melting bandera paleta.

In Niño’s honor I made the kids their own red, white, and green paletas, which come to think of it will also be perfect for Cinco de Mayo. The vivid green, white, and red reflect the colors of Mexico and (super bonus) are made with pure fruit juice and no food coloring!

Bandera Paletas {Grape-Lime-Strawberry Pops}

 I used a juicer to get a clear juice with no seeds or pulp but if you want you can make the layers in a blender and strain out the solids. I also added a handful of baby kale to the green grape juice to really make a deep color. The grape juice is so sweet, you’d never know it was in there, but you could use spinach for a milder flavor or try using kiwis instead of grapes. My final word of wisdom is that you’ll want each layer to freeze solid before adding the next, otherwise the colors will be all mixed up, (which is fine if you are going for more of a tie-dyed look). This might take a while depending on your freezer power, I had to let mine sit at least 3 hours before adding the next layer.

When you are done you will have a most delicious weapon…..zzzwwaapp—just look at that popsicle slick!

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Bandera Paletas {Grape-Lime-Strawberry Pops} + Niño

Print Recipe

The technicalities of layering the popsicle and inserting the stick is going to depend on the type of mold you are using. The kind that I have has a cap connected to the lid, which makes it impossible to fill with the stick attached, so I filled mine and then inserted the stick after I added the last layer, but I recommend using a mold where you can fill them with the stick in place that is open at the top. Also, if your molds are smaller (or larger) than mine, the amount of juice you will need to make the layers may vary. That being said, you could possibly have a lot of juice leftover which is delicious on its own….drink up!

  • Yield: 6 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 cups green grapes
  • 1/2 cup baby kale, tightly packed
  • 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup honey, divided (plus more to taste)
  • 1 pound strawberries (about 3 cups), hulled and cut in half if large

Instructions

  1. For the green layer, juice grapes and kale in a juicer and spoon 2 tablespoons of the juice into 6 paleta molds. Use a funnel if you are particular about getting even layers (you don’t want any running down the sides of the mold messing up your business).
  2. Place in the freezer. Check after about an hour and give a stir with a chopstick to reincorporate any solids that have floated to the top. Freeze until solid, stirring occasionally.
  3. Combine lime juice, water, and half the honey. Whisk until honey is dissolved. Taste and add more if it is too tart.
  4. Pour 2 tablespoons of juice into each mold, insert popsicle sticks and freeze until solid.
  5. Juice the strawberries and taste. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of honey if the juice is tart. Whisk until the honey is dissolved.
  6. Remove popsicle sticks, pour 2 tablespoons of the strawberry mixture into each mold, replace the sticks and freeze until solid.
  7. To remove from the molds, run the paletas under warm water until they slide out of the mold. Paletas will keep in the freezer for up to a week.

PIN IT FOR LATER!

Mexican Bandera Paletas deliciously represent the colors of the flag with fresh squeezed fruit and vegetable juices for a heatlhy treat. Fresh grape, lime, and strawberry juices make up the colors along with a little baby kale for color and nutrients and honey for sweetness. #popsicles #paletas #healthyMexicanfood #CincodeMayo #StrawberryPopsicles

Cookie Butter Muesli Cookies

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Have I mentioned there’s no Trader Joe’s near my house? I might have said something along those lines once or twice, but just in case you are new (Welcome friend!) then let me just reiterate—there is no Trader Joe’s even remotely close to my house! 

No TJ’s is by far what I dislike most about living in the ice-cold, frozen, windswept tundra we affectionately call home. The closest Trader Joe’s locations are in Minneapolis, a short five-hour drive away. On my last trip in January I was either deep in winter hibernation mode (junk food) or seriously PMSing (junk food) and I bought every snack item they sell including Cowboy Bark and (I’m embarrassed to admit this) three jars of Speculoos Cookie Butter…..who knows when I’ll get back, right? Don’t judge. When I strolled up to the check out line the dear heart behind the counter took one look at my overflowing cart and said ‘How far are you driving?!’ When I told her North Dakota she reached behind her and pulled out three boxes of Dark Chocolate Triple Ginger Cookies and plopped them in my bags….for the road…ya know….snackin’.

So now these jars of cookie butter have been eating at me (or I’ve been eating at them? I don’t know.) to get used before bikini season in like….say…..four months. So instead of slathering it on every piece of toast, pretzel stick, and banana I see I took a jar and made the cookie butter back into cookies, a sort of reincarnation if you will.

Cookie Butter Museli Cookies

 In these cookies muesli (basically raw granola) gets all mixed up with the cookie butter, some brown sugar, and a touch of vanilla. They are like the best gingersnap-peanut butter-oatmeal raisin cookie you’ve ever laid eyes on. Super crispy with soft centers if you eat them straight from the oven, otherwise they get crisp all the way through, in which case, they make an excellent scoop for some vanilla ice cream.

 

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Cookie Butter Muesli Cookies

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  • Yield: 22 Cookies 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 cups museli
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups cookie butter
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Granulated sugar, for decorating

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 350°F. Combine flour, museli, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to incorporate.
  2. Combine shortening and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium until fluffy, about 4 minutes.
  3. Add the cookie butter, egg, and vanilla and beat to combine. Add the dry ingredients and beat on low until fully incorporated.
  4. Scoop dough by the tablespoon and roll in granulated sugar. Place on top baking sheets lined with parchment or silpats, about 1-inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until still soft in the middle but crisp on the edges.

Banana Fritters with Boozy Coffee Sauce + Count the Monkeys

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 When my oldest was little we did nothing but read. “Read me a book, Mama.” was the first sentence out of her mouth in the morning and no fewer than 4 books would be read before bed every night.

Then the second child came along and with him any free time to read for hours on end flew out the door. Oh, he’ll manage to sit still for maybe one….very short….book and he’ll sit through a bit longer one if he knows what comes next is lights out, but gone are the days when we’d sit snuggled in my bed and read book, after book, after book until I was hoarse or one of us fell asleep, whichever came first.

Banana Fritters with Boozy Caramel Sauce

 I came to the realization a couple weeks ago that those days probably aren’t coming back. I thought for awhile that after the baby got a bit older we could go back to our long visits to the library, but now I don’t think we will. Louisa days are spent in school and Hiro’s favorite thing to do at the library is either tackle other kids or dump all the crayons out and then fling them across the room (we don’t go there much).
 It makes me sad to think this stage of our lives might be over. I still bought both kids a boatload of books for Christmas hoping we could find some that would keep Hiro’s attention and to my surprise there were actually a couple that he not only sat through, but wanted to read again! One of his favorites has been Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett. It is a fun, interactive book that keeps kids guessing about what surprises they will find on the next page. It is the perfect read for young kids, especially a spirited child like mine.

In honor of this fun book I made a recipe for the one thing monkeys like the most……bananas, of course! Not just any ‘ol banana recipe mind you…no, no, no…..fried bananas. Would monkeys like that? My monkeys like that and Mama and Papa monkey are especially fond of the boozy, Kahlúa-laced coffee sauce that goes along with them.

Banana Fritters with Boozy Coffee Sauce

 Banana fritters are like taking the moistest, most intensely-flavored banana bread and frying it (which is not a half bad idea……hmmmm). Anyway, this is a really good idea too, cause if you don’t coat them too heavily and let a little bit of the banana peek through then that part gets all caramely and crisp. Beneath the crackly exterior lies the soft, pillowy batter, and under that a sliver of warm banana just begging to be dipped in sweet coffee sauce.

Banana Fritters with Boozy Coffee Sauce

 You can absolutely make these and forget the sauce if you are making them for the under 21s. Or you can add the Kahlúa to the pan in the beginning and boil any alcohol out of it before serving it to the childrens. Either way, don’t skimp on the powdered sugar, they need a good snowy sprinkling.

Does your little ones love monkeys? Here’s some other good monkey-themed books for toddlers from our friends over at Zoobean:

Ape in a Cape by Fritz Eichenberg
Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert
May I Bring A Friend? by Beatrice Schenk De Regnires
Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

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Banana Fritters with Boozy Coffee Sauce

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This sinful combination is one of our favorite Mexican desserts. Freshly fried banana slices coated in a light batter, drizzled with a Kahlúa coffee sauce.

Ingredients

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For the Sauce:

  • 1 cup strong coffee
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup Kahlúa

For the Fritters:

  • Vegetable oil, for frying
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk
  • 4 just ripe bananas, sliced 1/2-inch thick on the bias
  • powdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions

  1. To make the sauce, combine the coffee, sugar, and half of the Kahlúa in a small saucepan.
  2. Place over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil and cook until mixture is thick and syrupy, about 10 minutes. You might need to stir towards the end to prevent the mixture from boiling over—watch carefully.
  3. Remove from the stove and add the remaining Kahlúa, bring back to a boil then remove from heat. Set aside to cool. Sauce can be made up to a week in advance, covered and refrigerated until ready to use.
  4. For the fritters, pour about 2 inches of oil into a deep frying pan and heat over medium heat to between 350-375°F, or until a piece of bread dropped in the oil browns in 30 seconds.
  5. Meanwhile, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Whisk aerated and break up any lumps. Make a well in the middle.
  6. Add the egg and coconut milk to the well in the middle of the flour and stir until combined and smooth.
  7. Add the banana about 5-6 pieces at a time to the batter and coat on all sides.
  8. Lift the banana slices, one at a time, out of the batter and let any excess drip back into the bowl. Carefully place the banana slices into the hot oil and fry for 6-8 minutes, turning halfway through.
  9. Remove fritters to a paper towel-lined tray and repeat with the remaining banana slices.
  10. Serve fritters warm, dusted with powdered sugar and drizzled with coffee sauce.

PIN IT FOR LATER!

Ripe bananas dipped in batter and fried then drenched in a boozy coffee sauce. #banana #fritter #coffee #dessert

Almond Gingersnaps

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 Over the past few years of this blog I’ve on occasion written about my grandmother. I’ve shared her recipes for orange cookies and cranberry jell-o and today I have one more.

I’ve put off writing this post for months now. Every time I thought I was ready to share the news of her passing I couldn’t do it, putting it into words made it too permanent, too real.

My father called the Sunday before Thanksgiving. He had found her collapsed in the hallway of her apartment, still breathing, but not conscious. I sobbed in the shower that night, knowing I would never hear her voice again. By Tuesday she was still hanging on, but things were looking grim. I decided to pack the kids up and make the 10 hour drive first thing in the morning. We arrived  Wednesday evening and by then she had been moved to hospice. When I finally got to see her she was unconscious, struggling for breath, but still alive. I went to her bedside and held her hand, I told her I loved her and she rubbed the inside of my palm with her fingertips. The next morning she was gone.

The following few days were a whirlwind of Thanksgiving preparations, service preparations, speech writing, baking, cleaning, and childcare. The day of her death and the day after I think we were all so relieved that she was no longer suffering. The family had gathered at her apartment to help sift through her things and found so many treasures; letters she had written to her parents as a young stewardess, pictures of her popping out of a cake at my grandfather’s 50th birthday party, a Grandmother’s Journal my aunt had given her to fill out for her grandchildren where she was supposed to answer questions about her life. A task she was clearly none to pleased with since she, first of all, still had the book and secondly wrote responses such as: Describe the first house you lived in after you got married……..Dinky.

Almond Gingersnaps

 It wasn’t until I had piled the kids in the car to drive to the funeral several days later that the first wave of sadness hit me. I, of course, knew eventually that this day would come, she was 91 years old after all, but I was not prepared for the reality of it all, my little girl in a black dress, my little boy in a bow tie, strapped into their car seats awaiting what was to come. In that moment I didn’t want to be brave. I didn’t want to have a calm, loving face for my children, I wanted to curl up in a ball and let my heart fall straight out of my chest onto the ice cold cement.
 

Almond Gingersnaps

 The waves keep coming, in moments when I least expect them, but so do little gifts. I have a box of her handwritten recipes that she gave me when she moved from her home of 50 years to her apartment. There wasn’t much there, I think they were mostly recipes from friends, none I really recognized. When we were going through her things we found three more wooden and metal flip-top boxes full of recipes, the good ones, the ones that graced her table over and over again. Written in those recipes are the secrets to her famous dishes, mysteries solved, like why, for example was her Thanksgiving stuffing always so moist and fluffy? Could it be the pound of butter the recipe called for? And these gingersnaps were simply to die for, they had a tinge of special I was never able to put my finger on. Her secret? A touch of almond extract to round out the spice and highlight the molasses.
 

Almond Gingersnaps

I’m settling in to this new reality, day by day regaining my courage. A task made easier with cookies.

 

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Almond Gingersnaps

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Grandma’s recipe says to make the cookies crispy you can put a few drops of water on top before baking. If you like that extra crackle, this is how to achieve it.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (I also sometimes substitute cardamom here. Both are great!)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar for rolling

Instructions

  1. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves (or cardamom), and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
  2. Beat shortening and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until fluffy.
  3. Add egg, molasses, and almond extract and beat to combine.
  4. Add flour mixture and mix on low until combined.
  5. Wrap dough and chill for at least 30 minutes.
  6. Heat oven to 375°F.
  7. Form dough into heaping tablespoon-sized balls and roll them in sugar to coat.
  8. Place them an inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes or until they are crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.
  9. Let sit on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool.

Churros con Chocolate Peanut Butter + A House In the Woods

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This month’s Zoobean book post is a lovely, lovely book about a couple of pigs, a moose, and a bear who decide they need a real house. A house with windows, a staircase, and a chimney stack and so they call up a boatload of beavers to help them build it, because who’s better at building than beavers, right?! The beavers happily oblige but only if they can be paid in peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (obviously). The book is A House In the Woods and it’s written and illustrated by Inga Moore.
 The story is timeless, beautifully written, and sweet, but it is the illustrations that make this book. Moore captures each character’s personalities so distinctly, you feel as if you’re old friends the first time through. And there is so much detail on each page, Louisa and I find something new every time we read it.

In honor of this delightful book and it’s loads of peanut butter sandwiches I’ve cooked up an equally delightful peanut butter recipe. Okay, I didn’t really cook it up, because guess what? There’s no cooking involved! It is so easy I literally made it in 5 minutes (way less time than it takes to go to the store and buy yourself some peanut butter…ahem).

Churros Con Chocolate Peanut Butter

 And this is no ordinary peanut butter either. It has all the delicious flavors of one of my favorite foods: Churros con Chocolate. I mimicked the crispy, cinnamon-dusted flavor of churros by using cinnamon graham crackers and then added a spot of honey and a hefty spoonful of cocoa. Spread it on toast or graham crackers and top with sliced strawberries or bananas for breakfast or snack time or just make a fancy sandwich for your beaver friends.

If you get pumped about making your own nut butters (like I did after I realized how easy it was) I’ve included some links below for some other fun recipes. If you want to make plain peanut butter just omit the cocoa powder and graham crackers (you can leave in the honey depending on your tastes) and proceed.

Churros Con Chocolate Peanut Butter

 What books are you and your kids reading? I’m always on the look out for some good reads, please share, I’d love to hear from you!

If you like this recipe, give these others a try:

Honey-Roasted Walnut Cinnamon Butter from Gluten-Free Girl

Sea Salt and Honey Almond Butter from Two Peas and their Pod

Salted Chocolate Pecan Butter from How Sweet It Is

Salted and Spiced Peanut Butter from Food In Jars

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Churros con Chocolate Peanut Butter + A House In the Woods

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  • Yield: 1 1/2 cups 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 1/2 cups roasted, salted peanuts
  • 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon peanut oil
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 4 cinnamon graham crackers, broken into pieces

Instructions

  1. Combine peanuts and cocoa powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Turn processor for about 1-2 minutes or until peanuts are finely chopped and have gathered in a ball.
  2. Add honey and oil and process again until smooth. Add graham crackers and pulse until they have blended into the peanut butter. Transfer to a container, seal and refrigerate until ready to use. Peanut butter will keep covered in the refrigerator about 2 weeks, maybe longer, warm for a minute or two in the microwave if it gets too hard.

Sweet Corn Waffles with Strawberry-Jalapeño Butter

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This month’s Zoobean book post celebrates all things wonderfully unique and different. 

It’s Okay To Be Different by Todd Parr encourages diversity and invites children to embrace those things that makes us special. I don’t know if my kids were first drawn to this book for it’s bright colors or fun, playful pictures but I love the book for it’s message of acceptance told with tons of creativity and humor.

It’s Okay To Be Different offers a wonderful opportunity to talk to your kids about diverse people and what might be special about themselves that they can be proud of. Lessons in self-acceptance should start early and last a lifetime, even I found myself learning a thing or two from this book. Reminders that  ‘It’s okay to be proud of yourself’ and ‘It’s okay to do something nice for yourself’ were particularly pertinent and ‘It’s okay to eat macaroni and cheese in the bathtub’? I should, without a doubt, do more of that.

 

Sweet Corn Waffles with Strawberry-Jalapeño Butter

 In this spirit of celebrating unique combinations I made some really delicious waffles with the last of the sweet corn from the garden….It’s okay to put sweet corn in your waffles….. 

They have a tinge of sweetness from honey which makes them terrific brunch food, but I can see them working just as nicely at dinner with I don’t know, some fried chicken……yep, uhuh. 

Oh, and let’s not forget the Strawberry-Jalapeño Butter. Leave the seeds if you like a kick in the pants with your waffles, otherwise take them out and just get a tongue-tingling edge to an otherwise sweet, rich butter that compliments the crispy corn-filled waffles just perfectly.

 

Sweet Corn Waffles with Strawberry-Jalapeño Butter

 If you’re looking for more interesting pairings check out The ¡Hola! Jalapeño-Zoobean board Unique Combinations over on Pinterest.

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Sweet Corn Waffles with Strawberry-Jalapeño Butter + This Month’s Kid Lit Pick

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Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup fine ground yellow cornmeal
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen sweet corn kernels (thaw first if using frozen)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • Baking spray for greasing waffle iron

For the butter:

  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup strawberry jam
  • 1 jalapeño, finely chopped (remove seeds for less spicy flavor)

Instructions

  1. Heat waffle iron according to manufacturer’s instructions.
  2. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Combine corn, egg, oil, honey, and vanilla in a separate large bowl. Whisk until everything is incorporated. Whisk in milk. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients all at once. Whisk just until everything is mixed together.
  3. Grease waffle iron with baking spray then ladle the batter into the waffle iron. Cook according to manufacturer’s instructions.
  4. While waffles are cooking, combine butter, jam, and jalapeño in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium until combined and fluffy. Set aside until ready to serve (stick in the fridge if it is very soft).
  5. Serve waffles hot with the strawberry-jalaepño butter and maple syrup.

 

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