We are so privileged to have “bonus” grandchildren (children and grandchildren of close friends who’ve adopted us as “bonus” grandparents.) They enjoy coming over to visit, playing Wii sports, sewing, cooking, and sometimes just blowing bubbles. It’s so hard to pull children away from TV, phones, and computers these days, it’s a delight for us to engage in good “old-fashioned” fun with youngsters who want to learn, create, and just be kids.
While spring is trying to make its way into the Pacific Northwest, it’s a bit early to be seeing butterflies whirling around. The lifecycle of a butterfly can take a while (click here for info on butterfly life cycle) so we decided to make edible ones.
I started with white chocolate baking chips, divided them between several dishes so I could make different colors. I used regular food coloring – about 2 drops in each dish (or use more if you want your colors brighter).
I usually melt chocolate in a double-boiler but since I was making several color batches, I put water in a frying pan and heated it up, then set pyrex (heat-resistant) dishes in the warm water. It melted the chocolate perfectly.
Sample made, let the creating begin!
After a bit of finger-licking and taste testing to make sure these butterflies and dragonflies were suitable for serving, the girls decorated the dessert to be extra special.
Please excuse the bright plastic tablecloth in the pictures – when working with chocolate and children, some precautions need to be taken.
The girls did a great job and had fun creating these butterflies and dragonflies. This project is perfect for 5-10-year-olds. (And I noticed mom dipping a few pretzels herself into the chocolate – but those never made it into the project – I think those were for her own taste testing. 🙂 )