January 30, 2012

Groundhog Day Brownies

A rodent.

A silly little rodent who has, apparently, drank an elixir that causes him to live forever.


This is what Groundhog Day is all about.  If you don't believe me, go to groundhog.org (yes, that's the real address) and look around.

Oh, that^ and lawn chairs, Pittsburgh Steelers' jackets, beer, cold weather, and lots of drunk college students.  Who sleep in tents for days at a time in an effort to catch a glimpse of previously-mentioned rodent.

Actually, that's what Groundhog Day is about.  Sometimes the attendees riot.

But the children don't need to know anything about that aspect of it.

They just need to know that Pennsylvanians tend to regard a rodent when it comes to the weather, so we're going to have a little party.  Parents, you can thank me later for topping off your child's education with this information. 

This is what I came up with for my 1st Annual Groundhog Day party (nope, again, not kidding).

These adorable push-pops were written about by Trish at Sweetology.  I didn't go as far as she did because 30 is an awful lot of push pops to make.  Instead, I did brownies.


Groundhog Day Brownies
makes 30 brownies


For the groundhogs:
30 mini-Snickers bars
rolled white fondant
1 pink Starburst, softened, broken apart, rolled into tiny balls
Mini M&Ms (brown), approximately 120 (4 per groundhog; I bought a bag of the mini packs for Valentine's Day and had plenty of browns.)
Chocolate sauce/tooth pick

I used the case from a meat thermometer to cut my fondant.  I'm pretty professional.
For each Snickers, push 2 mini M&Ms into the flat side of the bar for the cheeks and 2 for the ears.  Press in a tiny piece of Starburst for the nose.  Cut the fondant into tiny circles, press into the candy bar, and, using the toothpick, dot the centers with a bit of chocolate sauce. 

For the brownies:
2 boxes family-size brownie mix
Ingredients called for on brownie mix box
Chocolate frosting, in a piping bag (I made my own, but I recommend the canned route.  It's easier and cheaper.)

Spoon the batter into muffin cups, filling them about halfway.  Bake in a muffin tin for 13-16 minutes.  The brownie box didn't give specifications for cupcakes, so I started checking for done-ness at 12 minutes.  Let the brownies cool completely.

To assemble:
Spoon out the very center of each brownie muffin and save those scraps/crumbs.  Push a Snickers groundhog into the opening you've cleared out.  Pipe a bit of chocolate frosting around the groundhog and then press some crumbs into the frosting.  Now you have "dirt".  More specifically, a groundhog popping out of the dirt to check his shadow!

Their eyes look crrrrazy!  They must be disoriented, just having poked through the ground and all.
Shared at:  Melt In Your Mouth Monday, Sweet Indulgences Sunday,
Mingle Monday
Crazy Sweet Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Tuesday Talent Show
Cast Party Wednesday, These Chicks Cooked 
Stuff for Success 
Mrs. Fox's Sweets Party 
Sweet Treats Thursday 
Coffee and Conversation Thursday 

8 comments:

  1. Cute! I so wish I was crafty and made fun stuff like this. My future kids are pretty out of luck, I think.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those are too cute. But I'd still eat him. Because chocolate trumps cute, every time!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh my goodness those are adorable! I love it! My b-day is in Feb so I love all things February! Adore this XO

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Kristin! Just stumbled upon your blog and thought I'd say hi. :) Those groundhog brownies are SO CUTE and innovative!

    Audrey
    www.puttingmetogether.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Those are absolutely adorable!!!! I'm loving the crazy eyes:-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. my gosh these are soooooo CUTE!!!! I love them and thx for the mention, that was nice of you

    ReplyDelete
  7. omg these are so cute! What a good idea, I'm your newest follower, I'd love it if you followed me back! I can't wait to check out the rest of your blog

    ReplyDelete

Comments make my day!