Costumes for kids: Boys & Girls
SUPPLIES:
Sheet of pink felt, 12 by 9 inches
Scissors
Double-sided foam tape
Gray hooded sweatshirt and sweatpants
Fabric glue
2 pink felt circles, 5 inches in diameter
2 white or gray felt circles, 9 inches in diameter
Duct tape
Thick cotton cording
Face paint (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Trim the pink felt into a large oval and stick it to the front of the sweatshirt with double-sided foam tape.
For ears, glue the pink felt circles to the centers of the white or gray felt circles. When dry, cut a pie-slice wedge from each ensemble. Then overlap and glue together the cut edges to create a conical ear. Attach the ears to the sweatshirt hood with double-sided foam tape.
For a tail, duct-tape a length of thick cotton cording to the back of the sweatpants and pull the hem of the sweatshirt over the taped portion.
Use face paint to add a mouse nose and whiskers.
SUPPLIES:
old shirt
tool belt
hand tools
brown face paint
work gloves
hard hat
toy walkie-talkie
DIRECTIONS:
Cut the sleeves off an old flannel shirt and wear it over a long-sleeved thermal shirt.
Strap on a tool belt, add some old hand tools, and smudge on brown face paint for a hard-working look.
Hand the builder a pair of work gloves, a hard hat, a tape measure, a toy walkie-talkie, and work boots, and he’ll be ready to tool about the neighborhood.
Two-Bite Buckeye Cookies: Makes roughly 2 dozen filled cookies
FOR GANACHE FILLING:
• 1/2
cup heavy cream
• 1/4
cup smooth natural peanut butter (Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s)
• 1
teaspoon chipotle puree* –or more depending on your heat tolerance.
• 1/4
teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste depending on the saltiness of your peanut butter
FOR COOKIES:
• 1 1/2
cup AP flour
• 3/4
cups natural cocoa powder
• 1/2
teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2
teaspoon ground ancho chiles
• 1/4
teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2
teaspoon cayenne
• 12
tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1
cup sugar
• 1
egg
• 1
teaspoon vanilla
Place peanut butter, chipotle puree, and salt in bowl of standing mixer (with whisk attached). Gently warm cream in small pan over low heat. Pour cream over peanut butter mixture and whip until smooth. Taste and adjust for salt and chipotle. Chill until firm, a couple hours or even overnight.
Sift together flour, cocoa, salt, pepper, ancho, and cayenne.
In bowl of standing mixer, cream butter. Add vanilla, sugar, and beat thoroughly. Beat in egg and gradually add dry ingredients. Blend only until mixed.
Turn dough out on lightly floured cutting board/silpat/counter and shape dough into two cylinders about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. Wrap cylinders in wax paper and place in freezer until firm, about 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375. Unwrap dough and cut into slices 1/8-inch thick. Place about 1 1/2 inches apart on parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake about 8 minutes. Watch carefully; cookies are done when they are firm to touch. Cool.
Gently spread chilled ganache on cookies and top with another cookie to make a sandwich.
*Chipotle puree: empty the contents of a can of chipotle chiles in adobe sauce into your food processor or blender and pulse until smooth. The remainder will keep in a glass jar in the fridge for at least a month. Delicious stirred into scrambled eggs, mayo, hummus, and butter (to spread on corn on the cob, yum)
