Sous Chef Sunday: DIY Pixie Sticks

 Pixie sticks… aka kiddie crack. I couldn’t even begin to tell you how many of these sugary shots I downed as a kid. These little straw like sticks of powdered candy were a favorite of mine, and most every other kid I knew from elementary school. Can we say sugar high? I once knew a kid in middle school who took it a little too far. He had the bright idea to sniff one, acting as if he was cool in doing so. Yeah. That resulted in a horrible headache. Sugar highs aside (kids don’t care about crap like that) I know my own kids enjoy them just as much as I did. They would probably have lived off of them, and any other candied item if given the option. Balanced diet, right? When I saw a recipe for a make-it-myself version, my dormant sugar censors kicked into high gear. The sons were totally on board. And all this with ONLY two ingredients. That’s right, two.

 

I couldn’t believe how easy it was to make our very own little sugar shots. Seriously, like less than 10 minutes. We made them just for fun this time, but I’m definitely going to be whipping out a bunch as part of the spread for their next birthday celebrations. What table wouldn’t look just a tad more adorable with these? The sons did almost all of the work themselves, and being Mom I was the self appointed glue-gunslinger. I love when we can all get down and crafty will all our bad little selves.

DIY Pixie Sticks

Kool-Aid packets (flavor of your choice)
sugar
paper straws
glue gun

Directions

1. Take a sandwich baggie and add 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and the Kool-Aid dry mix.
2. Shake well until evenly dispersed.
3. Hot glue the bottoms of the straws closed by adding one dot of glue and then firmly pressing both sides together. I used a pair o scissors to press them together against my counter top.
4. Cut a small hole in the corner of your baggie and fill the straw up until about a 1/2 inch from the top.  Then hot glue the other end.
5. Told you they were easy!  Each baggie will fill about 12 straws.  They aren’t quite as pretty as the ones you can fill up at the candy store but these taste better!

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Sous Chef Sunday: Kool-Aid Meringue Cookies

Oh, Kool-Aid, how the sons love you. How they will agonize over the packet selection at the grocery store, trying to find the perfect five or so for a $1, occasionally arguing amongst each other over whether they really want to waste one of their picks on plain, old orange. It’s always a bit of a bummer for them when they realize their packets have run out, and they’ve got to wait 2-3 more weeks for our monthly grocery trek to get anymore. Imagine their surprise when they saw me putting extra packets into the cart a few months ago. They were a bit surprised when I said we wouldn’t be drinking the grape or the cherry, but baking them instead.

These were super easy to make, and the kids enjoyed the slightly sweet taste as the cookies melted in their mouths. The older sons even learned how to separate an egg, something I didn’t do for the first time until just a few years ago. Son # 4 even helped pipe them out onto a baking sheet. He was pretty proud of himself and his ability to get his hands ‘dirty’. I’ve seen these described before as easy peasy lemon squeezy and that’s the truth!

Kool-Aid Meringue Cookies

recipe originally from Adventures In All Things Food

4 egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 c. superfine sugar (or pulse up sugar in a food processor till fine)
1 tsp. Kool-Aid liquid

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees.
2. In a stand mixer, beat the eggs till they are frothy. Then add in the cream of tartar and continue to beat until soft peaks form. Then start beating in the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it is all dissolved and the peaks are stiff. Rub a little of the egg whites between your fingers to check for gritty sugar. The mixture should be smooth. Then beat in a teaspoon of the Kool-Aid liquid.
3. Put in a piping bag with a 1M tip and pipe onto a parchment covered baking sheet or silicone mat. Keep the cookies uniform so they will dry evenly. Bake for 45 minutes and then turn off the oven and leave the cookies in for another hour. They should be completely cool and release easily from the baking sheet.
4. Enjoy right away or store in an airtight container.