Candy Filled Pinata Cookie

With the new apartment, I've gotten back into the baking swing and have decided to take a shot at a cookie project I found on Pinterest a while back: The Pinata Cookie. These little burros take some time to make but are a fun party favor and hide a great surprise inside. You can find the original recipe on "She Knows".

Step 1: Gather your supplies. You're going to need some food coloring (I used a combination of gel and standard liquid), cookie dough, a bag of M&Ms, some quick dry icing, and a donkey cookie cutter (tip: check out "Ark" packages or substitute a more common horse cutter).





 

Step 2: Separate your cookie dough into five equal portions. Before breaking out the food coloring be sure to put some plastic wrap down to ensure you don't stain your counters. Food coloring will stain! Knead your food coloring into each piece of dough. You can do this by hand if you're brave, with the use of a hand mixer, or with a good old fashioned spoon if you're looking for a work out.

Step 3: Line a container with plastic wrap. Then, roll out each piece of dough individually and layer it within the container. You will want to freeze this before continuing--and I do mean freeze. I got eager and my colors blended a bit in step 4. Be sure your dough is totally frozen before continuing for a properly colored pinata.

 Step 4: Cut your frozen dough into slices. You are going to bake these as solid squares before using the cookie cutter, so cut the slices at a thickness you think appropriate for your cutter.

Step 5: While your cookies are still warm, use your cookie cutter to piece out your pinatas. Colors should run horizontally. Keep in mind that each cookie will require three pieces to make a whole pinata.






Step 6: One of every three pieces is going to need to be trimmed to make the "middle" of your pinata. Head and body should remain intact. Remove the pinata's legs and ears and hollow out his middle portion.





 

Step 7: Use your quick drying icing to piece the pinatas together. You will want one whole burro on the bottom, a legless burro in the middle, and another whole burro on top. Be sure to fill the cookie's stomach portion with M&Ms before sealing with icing.

 



Step 8: Bust open those Pinatas!!!

Terrarium: The Action Figure Display

After recently moving, I've found myself unpacking an excess of action figures. As any good geek can tell you, figures without boxes have a sad resale value, so I've decided to repurpose some of my old toys to spruce up the new apartment in a cheap and easy terrarium.

 Monster Island in a Box

To create your own boxes universe, you'll need some low-maintenance plants like cacti or African violets; a fishbowl, some figures, and some rocks. Most of my materials I found outside,  my plants were donated from my coworker, and my only purchase--the fishbowl--cost less than $3.00. Amazon.com also offers a terrarium starter kit for less than $10.00 found here.

Step 1: Mix your rocks and dirt and put a generous amount on the bottom of your bowl. The rocks allow water to flow more freely through the dirt and help your terrarium require less maintenance. 








Step 2: Bury the roots of your plants in the dirt. Arrange the leaves carefully. You might like to use some natural decorations such as sticks from outside to serve as "trees" in your micro-universe or some seashells. I added a bit of dry grass.





Step 3:  Arrange your figures inside. Pose-able figures are fun. I chose to use some of my mini-Godzilla collection to create a micro-Monster Island. Another popular idea is Ewok figures for Endor in a Box or Pokemon figures for a battle-arena scene.