Project 8: Edible Art

Your kids are going to love this project because it combines two favorites of children: eating sugary snacks and playing with their food. This is basically a recipe that you will whip up with your kids, and then they will create a sculpture or bas-relief from it. No baking required!

This recipe is an old family recipe for soft mints. My grandmother made these for holidays and events, and my mother carried the tradition by putting the mints into small molds of baby booties and using them at baby showers. They were always such a hit! I hadn't made these mints myself until one of my best friends got the urge to make them when I was visiting her right before Christmas 2009. We had a great time coming up with shapes for the mints using various kitchen tools she had since she didn't have any sort of molds or small cookie cutters. The mints came out great and in varied shapes and sizes!

Materials

• 1 (one) 16 oz package of powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)
• 4 oz of cream cheese (1/2 of an 8 oz block)
• flavoring, or extract (I use spearmint extract for mints, but for this project , I'll be using orange extract)
• food coloring (not required, just a nice addition)
  
• medium-sized mixing bowl
• spoon
• tray, cookie sheet, large plate, cake stand, or something to put the sculpture on

Instructions

1. Get your kids prepared to be in the kitchen by having them roll up sleeves, pull back loose hair, and wash their hands. Everyone will also want to take off any hand jewelry, unless they want sugar in every crevasse!
   
2. Get out a medium-sized mixing bowl and spoon.
3. Have your kids put the cream cheese in a microwavable bowl (this can be your mixing bowl if it is microwave-safe) and soften the cream cheese by zapping it in the microwave for about 10 seconds. Be sure they don't cook it too long, as it shouldn't be melted, but rather softened.
4. Have your kids stir the cream cheese in the mixing bowl with a spoon.
5. Tell them to slowly add about a half cup of powdered sugar to the cream cheese. Your kids will mix the cream cheese and powdered sugar together until blended. Tell them to stir slowly and gently, as the powdered sugar can go everywhere! The powdered sugar pretty much just melts in the cream cheese.
6. Have your kids continue to add about a half cup of powdered sugar to the mix at intervals. It will start to get tough for them to stir when you get down to the last fourth of the bag of powdered sugar, so you'll need to assist at that point.
7. You'll want to add the flavoring and any food coloring before it gets too difficult to stir. You can actually add it early in the mixing if you'd like.
8. Once the rest of the bag of powdered sugar is being mixed with the cream cheese, you'll probably need to begin kneading it with your hands. It should be very dough-like (a little sticky, but it doesn't stick all over your fingers).
9. Continue to work it with your hands until the powdered sugar blends in.
10. Now your kids get to create their edible art! They can either work directly on the serving dish, or they can work on wax paper or foil and then transfer their masterpiece to the serving dish.
11. There is no right way to create this edible sculpture, so let your kids have at it! You can guide them on what looks right, how to form a ball by rolling it with their hands, etc.
    
12. They can make a 3-dimensional sculpture, like this: or they can do a bas-relief (a more 2-dimensional sculpture) by cutting out shapes with a toothpick or butter knife and placing the pieces together, like this:
13. Important tip: this dough is very heavy and loves to sag. Avoid tall sculptures, as they will seriously droop and become blob-like. I tried a standing-up rabbit for this project, and by the end, the rabbit had a very large belly and bottom!
    
14. You'll notice that the more you work with the dough, the drier it becomes. To soften it back up a bit, wet one finger and knead it with your hands. A little bit of water goes a long way, so don't use any more water than needed!
    
15. Once your kids are done creating their art, place the sculpture in the refrigerator. Keep in there until you are ready to serve, as it stays a little more firm when it is cold. It will remain soft, even if it has been in the refrigerator for a while.
    
16. Be sure to take pictures!

My kids are done with the project, now what?

• This project can be done for birthday parties, holiday meals, gifts, or even as a rainy day activity. Help your kids think of different things to create from this recipe.
• Try different flavorings! Your local grocery store will have many different extracts to choose from. I've seen coconut, raspberry, lemon, almond, peppermint, spearmint, orange, etc.
  
• This recipe makes a wonderful and edible topper for cakes, so have your kids create something fun for the centerpiece of a cake!

You might also like:

1. Kitchen Daily has a helpful section called Cooking with Kids that provides ways to invite your kids into the kitchen with you. I think you'll find the articles helpful to your family in many ways.
2. Disney's Family Fun shows some very creative ways for kids to make food resemble things like animals (my favorite is the strawberry mice!). These types of activities can get your kids excited about being in the kitchen while practicing their creativity at the same time.
3. Kids Health is a wonderful resource for healthy eating for kids. This Web site has a section for the kids as well as for the parents, and it even has recipes for those who have certain types of medical conditions. After this project, your kids may need some healthy meals to combat all the sugar!