In May 2016, two friends of mine tied the knot in beautiful Jamaica. So when they announced a few months later in August that they were expecting…twins…all of us were beyond excited! We instantly began buzzing with ideas for the baby shower. Pinterest page…check. As the months rolled by, and the planning committee was officially assembled, questions of what the theme should be started. By request of the wonderful mommy-to-be, BUNNIES! Gleaming with excitement, those of us on the planning committee, pinned bunny baby shower ideas galore. Everything from decorations and games to cute bunny-shaped treats.
On the planning committee, my sister and I, were placed in charge of decorations. I know what you’re thinking…isn’t this a food blog? And yes, you would be correct. But don’t you fret, I will include the treats that I made for the special occasion! Now, as I was saying, for decorations we had so many ideas in mind that we had to narrow the list down. After all, everything that we created would need to be packed and travel down to Iowa for the shower. The final list included:
- Bunny banner
- Welcome banner
- Centerpieces that had flowers and carrots in bunny spray painted vases
- Bunny baby wishes
- Guestbook
- Streamers and pom poms
- Bunny shaped chocolates
- Lemonade tea cookies with candied violet pieces
- Advice for the parents
- bunny tail guessing game
My what a list (if I do say so myself)! It was then time to start putting ideas into action. For three weeks my living room was a craft room, that was off limits to Bruce Lee (1 year old german shepherd).
It was the night before we were to leave for Iowa and we were busy creating the last of the crafts. When midnight rolled around, we called it quits for the night. The morning of the drive I got up around 6:30 a.m., and made the bunny shaped chocolates and lemonade tea cookies. Now running on little sleep and baking is not recommended, but you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes. There were a few oopies…dropped cookies that I sadly had to say c’est la vie.
Clothes packed and decorations packed, we left for Iowa an hour later than planned but we purposely headed down the day before the shower just in case. We arrived around 3:00 p.m., grabbed a bite to eat and then picked up the flowers ad carrots. Headed over to our friend’s parents’ home and had game night once the entire planning committee and parents-to-be arrived. Game night consisted of rounds of heads up (not heads up 7-up…for those of you old enough to remember). The evening was full of laughter and catching up.
The next morning…shower day! Mommy-to-be was kept out of the party space while we transformed the rooms into an adorable bunny baby shower. Running on pure sugar, provided by daddy-to-be, in the form of doughnuts powered us through the set-up!
Our friend in Texas was the coordinator and was in charge of the games. The soon-to-be grandma was in charge of the food. All of which was amazing! The games got guests laughing, mingling and enjoying the celebration of the extraordinary mommy-to-be and beautiful babies that will soon grace the world. The food was finger foods that included pinwheel sandwiches, chips and queso (which by the way, was delicious…I mean absolutely delicious), fruit and veggies and dip. The treats table continued the wonderfulness (is that a word? If not, oh well, no other way to describe it). Along with the treats provided by myself, there were cupcakes, chocolate covered Oreos, peanut M&Ms, more glazed sugar cookies and a mix of marshmallows and nuts.
Games were played, food devoured, presents ripped open, and a warm and loving celebration for two beautiful people expecting two precious babies!
So, as promised a couple recipes…
Bunny Shaped Chocolates
Ingredients:
2 bags of chocolate chips (whatever chocolate you prefer)
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 silcone mold (whatever shape you want)
Directions:
Melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a double boiler. Once fully melted, fill the molds and refrigerate until hardened.
Lemonade Tea Cookies with Candied Violet Pieces
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups self rising flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Lemon glaze ingredients:
2/3 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Candied violet pieces (I put mine in my spice grinder to break up the pieces)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, cream butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
Add in the flour a little bit at at time. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to a 1/4 inch thickness. Use your cookie cutter of choice (I used a bunny…for obvious reasons). Place cut out cookies onto a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper. Bake for 6 – 7 minutes. Then place on a cooling rack.
For the glaze, mix all ingredients. Dip each cookie into the glaze ad then sprinkle with candied violet pieces.
Cookie recipe by b.sweet dessert boutique