First Birthday Party Favor Ideas: Homemade Hand-Dipped Chocolate Covered Oreos!

 With my daughter's first birthday party rapidly approaching, I'm in party planning mode and thought I'd share some of my ideas. For her party favors, I'm toying with the idea of Hand-Dipped Chocolate Covered Oreos.  They are so pretty and I can't imagine taste delicious!

Buy these online! $1.45 each

I am going to attempt to do these myself. Here is a "how to" I found:

Instructions

Things you'll need:

• 1 # Molding Chocolate (vegetable oil based)
• 16 Oreo cookies
• Dipping fork (found at most craft stores)
• Wax paper
• Microwave proof bowls
  
  
  

  
  

  1. Lay wax paper out on your work surface, and remove cookies from their packaging, removing or eating any broken ones.
  2. Melt molding chocolate in a microwave safe bowl on medium heat. Microwave for 1 minute the first time and then for 20 second increments until chocolate is almost melted. Remove from microwave and stir till last small pieces are melted. Molding Chocolate should be around 100- 110 degrees
  3. Drop and Oreo in the bowl of chocolate, and flip it over with your dipping fork.
     
  4. Lift your cookie out of the chocolate with the dipping fork and shake off excess chocolate by lightly tapping the base of the fork on the side of the bowl.
     
  5. Place the cookie on the wax paper and allow the cookies to dry till solid. At least 10-15 minutes.
     
  6. Decorate the cookies by melting more molding chocolate in your color of choice in a microwave proof bowl as per the directions in step two above. Place this melted chocolate in a small snack size plastic bag and cut off a small tip of one corner. Use this bag to drizzle a design across the cookies in your pattern of choice. Have fun with this part and use your imagination!

  
  
  So, we'll see how they turn out! 
  
  As for packaging them, I'm going to buy Plain white or pink take out boxes, put a colorful sticker on them and use my other theme colors (bright blue, lime green and pale yellow) as tissue paper, topped with a cute ribbon, I'm hoping they will turn out cute! I'll post pictures when finished!
  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

Baby's First Birthday - A Baby Memory Book

With my daughters First Birthday rapidly approaching, I've been hitting the internet non-stop looking for awesome first birthday ideas...Here is one idea!

Baby's Memory Book: Another idea is to invite all of your party guests to write a memory of your baby's first year, or a blessing for the baby. Take a picture of each guest at the party with your child, and combine the words and photos to create a simple but memorable birthday present - a baby scrapbook!

Source: www.fisher-price.com

Healthy Baby's First Birthday Cake

Many parents wish to continue the healthy eating habits of their babies when it comes to the all important First Birthday Cake. One idea is to make a small "healthy" cake just for baby and then make a sweeter cake for the "big kids".

This accomplishes two things; 1) baby gets her own cake to smoosh, smash, mangle and bite into without Mom and Dad having to worry about serving a perfect cake to guests and 2) the "big kids" get to indulge their sweet tooth. 

Apple Bread - double the recipe for a nice Bundt birthday cake.

1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup of sugar
1tsp vanilla (we use about 3 tsp.)
1 large egg
2 cups sifted flour (we never sift flour.)
1/2 tsp cinnamon (we use about 2 tsp.)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tblsp. milk
1/2 cup raisins (optional - add some dates.)
2 large apples, finely chopped
(after years making this, i find that using an apple slicer (the round kind with the slots) and then cutting the slices in half and then chopping them works best. If your apples are not of some sort of uniform size, the bread can get a bit too moist in some places and not enough in others)
1/2 cup walnuts, - optional - chopped finely or coarsely depending on how you prefer them

Combine oil, sugar and vanilla and cream until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and beat well.  Sift together flour, cinnamon, salt and baking powder.
Add milk, raisins, apples and nuts and dry ingredients to the creamed sugar/oil/vanilla.  Stir only until flour is well dampened

Bake at 375 degrees F in a well greased (and floured best) 9x5x4 loaf pan (the "regular size" Bake time 50-60 minutes and when you see top begin to crackle
Cool and remove from pan

***This bread/cake is very dense so the dough may seem not quite right to you as you are mixing it up.  It will appear a bit thick and chunky.***

You can make a nice powdered sugar glaze and pour on top when bread is almost cooled. We skip this mostly esp. as our boys love this bread without it.

This makes a YUMMY french toast when baked as bread - slice thick enough so that the bread won't crumble and gently dip in an egg batter. Fry in a pan and top with real maple syrup or spread with whipped cream cheese mixed with blueberry puree.

Source: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/