Bunny Tails (Chocolate Covered Popcorn Balls)

 Super simple and delicious...and on a stick.  I saw these little popcorn balls at a local popcorn shop and knew I had to put this together for Easter.
Make up your favorite popcorn ball recipe (or....some random person on the internet's favorite popcorn ball if you don't have a favorite).  Insert a stick.  Melt white chocolate, and spoon it over your popcorn ball until it's complete coated.  Sprinkle before it dries  Let it dry on wax paper (until the chocolate is hardened-you can stick this in the fridge for a few minutes to speed up the drying process).
Bag....and bite.
Sweet and salty....one of my favorite combos!
One bite down....

Dipped Peanut Butter Filled Apple

I stumbled upon this idea for diping apple slices via pinterest.  The original site is here.  I changed it up a bit based on my culinary preference (ha....I just wanted to use a big word).  Basically, I think adding peanut butter to any and every fruit should probably be added to the constitution.  Which is probably why my name won't be written on too many ballots this election year, but.....let's get to the point of this post.  Dessert.
I love dipped apples, I've made them every which way from mini to stuffed, but this one was a fun one.  I will say, if given the choice, I don't like to use baking chips.  They are made to melt at a higher degree so they maintain their shape in cookies etc, melting chocolates would have been ideal, but I was actually just working with what I had....apple, pb, sprinkles, sticks, and chocolate chips.

 The original post left the innards and the stem on, which was cute, but I decided to carve out the center and fill it with peanut butter so the whole thing was edible, well, almost....unless you are into nawing on popsicles sticks, and if you are....there is a show for someone like you. 

 Ta da.  One medium apple only makes about three of these.  If you aren't eating them right away, I'd run the apple through some sprite or 7-up to keep it from browning before dipping...then letting it dry a little.  If you do using the baking chocolate, add a teaspoon or so of oil to help not look so lumpy.  But....oh my, these were good.

Camping: Indoor S'More Bar

 The only time this tray 'o smores was outside was for a photo.  The thing about Texas summers....They.  Are.  Hot.  And this summer, because of a warm winter the bugs are out and about, and I don't want any of it!  We did this for dessert when my family was visiting a little over a month ago.  I included all sorts of chocolates, peanut butter, sticks, marshmallows, crackers etc.  You could certainly take this to the 10th degree with a selection of fruits, flavored marshmallows etc, but we mostly just ate candy bars with a side of marshmallows.  We sat in the air conditioned house and roasted our marshmallows with kabob sticks.  I lit up one of these warming cans-set in a bucket of salt (I didn't have any sand), and....

 I taught Blythe how to do this as well.  It turned into a marshmallow 'wand.'  Works for me. 

 I made her a marshmallow sandwich.....obviously, I'm in charge of teaching her the important life lessons. 

Princess: Cookie Wand Making Station

 Every party needs an activity or two.  I cooked some slice and bake cookies and inserted a popsicle stick before they hardened.  The deal with slice and bake is that you have to bake them as cool as possible (and I had to add a bunch of flour to roll and cut them), and they still sort of come out like a blob.  Here is a great sugar cookie recipe that doesn't do that, but....I was working on a time crunch, and these held up well. 

 I used a bunch of pastel sprinkles left over from Valentine's Day and some canned icing I dyed pink.

 And Blythe got to work making wand cookies for the rest of the subjects in her kingdom.

 It was intense work.

 Every good cook test the food before sharing it...

Watermelon On-A-Stick

 I've put fruit on a stick, and even used cookie cutters, but there is a point in my life where there are so many details to put together when hosting more than my dogs for dinner, and I loved this idea for serving watermelon on a stick.  I saw it in a picture via blog babble and thought....this, I can do without having to schedule an appointment with a therapist....or a padded room.  These were also perfect for 3  year old fingers who were present at this particular dinner. To get the stick into the skin, I used the point of a knife to create a little slit, and then pushed the stick in. 

 Salt, and bite.....if your that kind of watermelon eater, and salt is definitely part of my required seasonings for watermelon....

Father's Day Projects

 I'm headed to Good Morning, Texas this morning to share some edible Father's Day gifts....assuming your dad isn't the bouquet of flowers sort of guy....this is the link to the show segment.
For the dad you "Love a Latte"...I'm sharing cinnamon buns on a stick in a chalkboard mug.  I blogged the recipe, how to, and sources for the project here.
If you are dad's "Biggest Fan"...I'm also sharing pizza on a stick.  This is the link to the original recipe and how to's, sources etc for this project.  I also added the koozie holder, which I blogged about here.  I simple inserted some foam in the middle to stick the skewers down into to hold them in place. 

 

In other news, I'm finally ready to confess I have a slight addiction to projects on sticks.  I looked, and I've blogged over 50 'stick' projects....you can click on the label below this post "on-a-stick" to start browsing....and maybe praying about this little problem I've uncovered...

Peeps: On-A-Stick

 The Peep peeps actually sell these, but....I thought I'd share anyway, because really, is there anything wrong with something served on a stick?  It's easy, and fun.  Thread those puppies...or rather peepies up.....package 'em pretty, and ta da. 

Valentine's Day: Heart On-A-Stick

My friend Mary told me that she used to buy peppermints on clearance, and she and her girl scounts used to create hearts out of two of the peppermints to deliver to nursing homes for Valentine's Day.  I always wanted to try this, and I even bought candy canes anticipating this kind of project.  Then, last year this was featured  in Family Fun, the idea is originally from the blog The Idea Room.  A lot of pals tried it out, including Erin from Making Memories, and I knew I had to do it now so I could get some rest. 
How cute, how easy, and a stick?  Yes, please. 
A lot of the tutorials take two small candy canes, rest them down, and then pour white chocolate inside.  I decided to use the larger candy canes, heat the oven on low for about 5 minutes, and then mold my hearts together, and snip off the excess. 

Add a Stick...trust me, I have plenty of these on hand. 

Add melted chocolate and sprinkles, another thing NOT in short supply at my house. 

Wrap, and make friends. 

Peppermint: Peppermint Wands

Here's ways you can melt candy part 2.  I became a LITTLE obsessed with the process.  I saw this super cute idea for threading mints onto a stick and Muffin Tin Mom.  Hello, stick is, like, my middle name....or it will be just as soon as the paperwork goes through. 
You turn the oven on low (300) and just place them on parchment or lined baking sheets, and let them warm up for about 3-5 minutes.  They shouldn't be too hot to work with, but they will be warm enough to manipulate.

I did make one adaptation.  I used a bamboo skewer with a point, but I found that pushing them on the stick really warped the swirls, and so I pressed them to the top of the stick. 

If you don't like the stick showing on the back, you could double up the mints on both sides, but I'm fine with these, and when they cool, they are stuck-it-tee-stuck-stuck-stuck!

Christmas Cookies: Pinwheel Cookies

I saw the idea for pinwheel cookies last year in family fun.  They used a chocolate/sugar combo.  I just grabbed a tube of premade sugar cookies, and mixed half up with red dye, and then rolled out one on top of the other. 

I rolled it up, using the wax. 

Since I was using store bought dough, I placed it in the freezer for about an hour so it would be more firm when it baked (if it's too soft, store bought dough spreads our too far to hold it's form). 

Slice. 

Bake as the package directs. 

Insert a stick before the cookie cools.