To get started with these cookies, you are going to want our Cream Cheese Sugar Cookie recipe found here.  I know that you have to make another click to get the recipe, but I am promising you right here and now, IT IS WORTH IT!  However, if you are in a hurry, you can always use premade sugar cookie dough. 

Here are the additional items you will need for the decorating: Red, green and white frosting, black and green gel icing, triangle cookie cutter, and tongue depressors.

Roll your cookie dough per the recipe or the premade dough.  Cut your triangles out.

Lay your tongue depressors on a cookie sheet leaving enough room to lay the triangle dough on top.

Bake as directed by our sugar cookie recipe or per the packaged dough. Start with the red frosting and frost the watermelon part of the cookie.

Next comes frosting the white part of the rind.

Take your green gel and make lines to look like the green watermelon rind.

And last but not least, with your black gel, create the black watermelon seeds.

Let the frosting dry a little and then watch these yummy treats disappear!

Recipes that kids can really help and get creative are my favorite kind of recipes.  I would say this one really fits that bill and that we will be making them again.  Hope you enjoy!

More Watermelon goodness with our…

Watermelon Whoopie Pies

Watermelon Cupcakes

Watermelon Flower Pots

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Nothing says summer more than watermelon and ice cream.  This recipe blends the best of both worlds and is super easy to make.  You will be the hit of the barbecue party when you bring out these Watermelon Whoopie Pies.  Perfect for a warm summers night.

Print

Watermelon Whoopie Pies

Course Dessert

Author TGIF - This Grandma Is Fun

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 4 tbl softened butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup and 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Red pink and green food coloring
• Vanilla ice cream softened

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.
• Add egg and the vanilla mixing until well combined.
• In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder and salt together.
• Add 1/2 of this flour mixture into the butter mixture. Mix well
• Add 1/2 of the buttermilk until well incorporated.
• Add the second half of the flour and buttermilk until completely mixed.
• Divide batter into 2 equal portions.
• Stir some red and pink food coloring into the first portion. If you want the color to be more red, then you'll want to add some more red food coloring. We went for more of a lighter pink color
• Stir some green food coloring into the second portion.
• Stir the chocolate chips into the red portion.
• Spoon these two colored mixtures into a pastry bag or sandwich bag.
• Cut the corner on the bag.
• Spray your cookie sheet with non stick spray or you can also use a whoopie pie pan if you have one.
• Pipe out 3" circles of red and green onto the cookie sheet or fill the whoopie pie pan about 1/2 full.
• Bake at 350F for 9-12 minutes.
• Let cool and then transfer to a rack.
• After completely cool, wrap the pies in a plastic wrap and freeze for about an hour.
• Spread your softened ice cream onto a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper.
• Freeze in your freezer until the ice cream is firm again. Up to two hours.
• Cut your rounds with a strong cookie cutter. If your ice cream is too hard, wait a few minutes to softened slightly and try again.
• Remove the whoopie pies from the freezer and assemble together with your ice cream.
• Freeze until ready to eat

Notes

This recipe should make 6 Whoopie Pie Ice Cream Sandwiches. Recipe can easily be doubled. Recipe adapted from Haniela's

Another watermelon themed dessert for you:

Watermelon Cupcakes

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Part of my dislike is the texture but no matter how ripe or how cold a watermelon is, I will pass.  My husband thinks I’m crazy.

Things that are flavored with watermelon are great, like slushies and Jolly Ranchers and these cupcakes, but that’s as far as I go.

Even though I’m not a fan of real watermelon, I am glad that I have this Watermelon Cupcake Recipe in my arsenal. It’s the perfect kind of watermelon that even I can’t resist.

Print

Watermelon Cupcake Recipe

There will definitely be no spitting out the seeds with this Watermelon Cupcake Recipe. They will be gobbled up fast - no contest!

Course Dessert

Author This Grandma Is Fun

Ingredients

• Cupcakes
  
• 6 tbsp softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 egg whites
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Green food coloring
  
• 
  
• Buttercream Frosting
  
• 2 sticks of butter unsalted at room temperature
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 3-4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp of powdered watermelon koolaid mix
• Red food coloring
• Mini chocolate chips

Instructions

• Cupcakes
  
• Preheat the oven to 375º F.
• Line muffin pan with cupcake liners of your choice. We chose green.
• Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
• Add in the egg whites. Beat well
• Put in the sour cream and vanilla extract then fold into the butter and sugar mixture.
  
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt and gently mix to incorporate.
• Add half of the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Mix well
• Add the other half of the flour mixture and mix until you cannot see any dry flour.
• Add green food coloring to the color you desire.
• Fill your cupcake liners about 1/2 to 2/3 full.
• Bake at 375º F for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 350º. Keep the cupcakes in the oven for another 8-10 minutes.
• Remove from oven.
• Let cupcakes cool.
• Buttercream
  
• Beat the butter and shortening with an electric mixer until smooth.
• Add in 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat until you do not see any clumps of sugar.
• Add in more powdered sugar, mixing frequently until there are no more lumps and it is a thick consistency.
• Add the watermelon Kool-Aid powder and a small amount of red food coloring (until you reach the color you desire) and mix well.
  
• Instructions
  
• Spoon the frostingHow to assemble down into a large piping bag with a tip. We used a 1m piping tip.
• Start in the center of the cupcake and swirl out to the sides and then back in to the center of the cupcake, stacking the frosting as you go
• Sprinkle some mini chocolate chips on top of the frosting.
• Makes 10-12 cupcakes.

Notes

This recipe has been adapted from The First Year Blog!

The post Watermelon Cupcake Recipe appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

I told him that he better stop talking about it or else I would start crying and have a mental breakdown right there  in the middle of Costco!

He politely shut up.

I still have barbecues planned, I’m not ready to wear closed toed shoes just yet and I’m not ready to give up all the fresh local summer fruit and vegetables that we have where I live.  Just today I stopped off at a fruit stand and bought 12 ears of local corn.  I can’t wait to eat them tomorrow!   So even though these Watermelon Cupcakes aren’t real fruit, they are darling for your last-of-the-summer-barbecues.

And with chocolate chips for seeds, no one will be spitting these out all over their plates.   Now that’s my kinda watermelon seed!

Head on over to Mandy’s Recipe Box where we guest posted with the recipe!

 Looking for some more goodies?  Check these out!

Mini Apple Pie Cookies

Chocolate Hazelnut Skillet Cookie

Rice Krispies Mint Chip Crunch Cake

You can also find us on Pinterest │ Facebook │ Twitter │ Instagram │ StumbleUpon │ Hometalk

We shared this post with: Home Stories A to Z, Whipperberry, Tatertots and Jello, and Living Well Spending Less

The post Watermelon Cupcakes appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

This weekend is one of summer’s bookends.  If Memorial Day weekend is the beginning of summer, Labor Day weekend is definitely the end–whether the temperatures say so, or not!  If you are planning one last hurrah to bid summer farewell, then Super Saturday #58 provided terrific inspiration for feeding the crowd.  Check out these delicious end-of-summer party recipes.

Watermelon Lobsters from Simply Suzanne’s

Easy Guacamole from A New York Foodie

Sparkling Blackberry Coconut Spritzer from Carmel Moments

Handheld Strawberry Shortcakes from This Silly Girl’s Life

Roasted Vegetable Pasta from About a Mom

Mini Zucchini Pizzas from Practical Stewardship

Grilled Garlic Shrimp Skewers

Creamy Crabby Corn Dip from Carmel Moments

Thanks again for sharing your projects and recipes with us during Super Saturday #58!  We hope you were as inspired by these featured links as we were.   Please come back  for our next Super Saturday Link Party, starting at 7 P.M. EST on Friday night!  And keep an eye on your social media over the weekend, too.  We like to showcase links that catch our eye during the party via Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.  You might see your links featured there!

The post End of Summer Party Foods appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

My favorite was a crocheted strawberry hat. It was too cute for words. Anyhow, I’ve been inspired by all of the latest DIY’ers out there that have been using watermelon for inspiration. This summer I have seen skirts, bags, and picnic baskets all made to look like watermelons. So, I jumped on the band wagon and thought how cute a watermelon hat would be and how much my girls would love them!

Here’s What You Need:

• Cotton Bucket Hat
• Fabric Dye (Fuschia, Green, and Lime Green)
• Plastic Squirt Bottles
• Salt
• Gloves
• Drying Rack
• Black Acrylic Paint
• Small Paint Brush

Start by purchasing a bucket hat. Measure the circumference of your child’s head to make sure they need a child’s size. Otherwise, you may have to go with the adult size. The child’s size here was 21 and my daughters head measured 20″. This was just perfect for her with plenty of wiggle room. There are many places you can find these bucket hats. Local crafts stores will have them. However, I purchased mine on Ebay.

Prepare the Fabric Dye. Here are a couple of things that I did differently. When preparing the dye, I used only half of the dye amount. You are only making a squirt bottles worth of dye. Therefore, you will not need the entire package of dye. Next add 2 TBS. of salt.

This will help set the dye. You can also use soda ash. I opted for using salt because I didn’t have an soda ash and this works just as well. When you make the dye in the squirt bottle, the directions will tell you to use steaming hot water. I did this for the first bottle and put the lid on the container and shook it up. Little did I know that once I took my finger off the bottle, the cap came flying off and dye was everywhere in my kitchen. Ugh!

So, in order to prevent two clean ups, I mixed the next dye solution with half steam water and half warm water. I went and shook this up outside where I was doing my dying. The second time was much better. Make sure to saturate the entire hat in water and wring it out before you begin dying. This is very important! Otherwise, you will end up with a mess because dry fabric will resist the dye in the beginning.

Start with the lime green dye and dye the hat all the way up the brim where there is a border and stop. Next, take the green dye and dye the brim of the hat. Finish, with the fuchsia on the top of the hat. Try and leave a little area of white. This is a little difficult because the dye will spread and want to flow down because of gravity. Let this stand for a couple of hours.

Wash the hat in warm water with detergent as recommended by the dye instructions. Let this line dry. If the colors aren’t as vibrant as you would like, you can repeat the dying process again. Last step, take a small paint brush with the black acrylic paint and paint the watermelon seeds randomly onto the hat. Note*** Unless you let the hat sit overnight, the colors will turn out pretty light compared to the picture up above where the dye is in the hat. I wanted the hat to be on the lighter side as well. That is why I let it sit for only a couple of hours.

But, as you can see…Lily has a new favorite hat. She loves it so much that she even wears it around the house. I loved how it turned out and it’s so summery looking.

This is the perfect look for going to the pool, lake or beach.

Or, if you kids are anything like mine…the hat is just perfect for kickin’ it around and having a nice lemonade on a hot day!

Thank you again to the three sisters from Made From Pinterest for having me!

Follow Artzy Creations on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, and Twitter.

If you like the Cute Watermelon Kids Hat, check out these great project as well.

Ice Cream and Popsicle Necklaces For Kids with Free Template

Fun Felt Party Crowns

The post Cute Kids Watermelon Hat appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

One of my biggest challenges during the school year is menu planning and meal preparation; I can’t tell you how many times I have discovered I am missing one one key ingredient needed to make dinner and then run to the store to pick it up. Of course, I always see 3 to 4 other items (and sometimes more!) I need and pick them up as well.

I then rush through the check out and head home to make dinner. I get started on making dinner and that’s when I realize I left the store without purchasing the one key ingredient I went there for in the first place!

Seriously.

I need help.

Actually what I need for this school year is…..

INTERVENTION! Enter eMeals.

I came across their Pinterest account first, and from there I went to the eMeals website to see what they are all about. eMeals offered me a free 1 year subscription in exchange for a post sharing my eMeals experience to date. It took me two milli seconds to accept and sign up. There are 15 meal plans to choose from: Classic Meals, Clean Eating, Paleo, Low Carb, Slow Cooker, Low Fat, Low Carb, Kid Friendly, Simple Gourmet, Mediterranean, Natural & Organic, Diabetic, Vegetarian, Portion Control, and Gluten Free. You can change your meal plan at any time. We started with Gluten Free and will choose Clean Eating next. I plan on working my way through most of the meal plans by the end of my 1 year subscription.

After choosing a meal plan, I let eMeals know how many people I cook for and every Wednesday I get a menu plan with 7 dinners and side dishes with a co-ordinating grocery shopping list. Adding breakfast, lunch and dessert to your meal plan is also available. eMeals makes life even easier with their beautiful mobile app!

I look forward to checking my emails each Wednesday to find out what is going to be on the menu for the week. The recipes are healthy, easy to make with about 4 to 6 ingredients. eMeals rarely repeats the same meal, this has gotten me out of the rut I have been in for far for too long! This also means I come home with all key ingredients needed for every recipe…….the intervention worked, I am now in meal planning and food prep recovery! eMeals saves time, money and “missing one key ingredient” frustrations.

There have been a few meals that will not make it to our family favorites list, and a few meals I chose to skip. Overall I am very happy with my eMeals experience for the past few months. I took a few pictures of some dishes that have definitely made it to our family favorites list, Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken, Watermelon Salad and Berry Topped Thunder Cake. eMeals is currently offering 20% off when you use the code SCHOOL. Recipes like these and a 20% off offer (use code SCHOOL) can only mean one thing…….

eMeals Totally Rocks!

Head on over to Meals and save 20% with their Back to School special!

The post Back to School with eMeals appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

With temperatures rising, we’ve been looking for meal ideas that won’t heat up our kitchens during hot summer days.  It’s nice not to have to turn on the oven when the sun’s already baking.  There were plenty of ideas submitted for keeping the menu cool!  Check out these great ideas for Summer Suppers.

Garlic Parmesan Grilled Potato Wedges from This Silly Girl’s Life

Ricotta Stuffed Tomatoes from Walking on Sunshine

Watermelon Salad from Spaceships and Laserbeams

Thai Chop Salad from Caramel Potatoes

Orzo Stuffed Peppers from With a Blast

Healthy Potato Salad from Simply Fresh Dinners

Gourmet Hot Dogs from Kleinworth & Co.

Jicama Citrus Salad from The First Year Blog

Lemon Chicken with Spinach from Life in My Empty Nest

Gazpacho from Memories By The Mile

Thanks again for sharing your projects and recipes with us during Super Saturday #45!  We hope you were as inspired by these featured links as we were.   Please come back  for our next Super Saturday Link Party, starting at 7 P.M. EST on Friday night!  And keep an eye on your social media over the weekend, too.  We like to showcase links that catch our eye during the party via Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.  You might see your link featured there!

The post Share It Thursday from Super Saturday #45 appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

I know what you are thinking right now.

“What?  You don’t like watermelon? I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like watermelon!”

Yeah, I’ve heard that all my life.  I don’t know what it is, but watermelon does absolutely nothing for me.  People will tell me…Oh, if you just had a really good one, then you would like it!  Or….if you just had a really cold one, then you would like  it.  Put it in a cold river, then you would like it.

Nope.

Don’t like it.

So why would I be posting about watermelon?  Because my family loves it!  My favorite son LOVES watermelon!  He could eat an entire watermelon for dinner.  In fact, I think he might have tried that once.

P.S. In case you are worrying about me saying that I have a favorite son, truth is that I only have one son.  So he has been my favorite son for his whole life.  It’s kind of our thing.

So how do I pick a good watermelon for my family to eat?

Taking direction from The Food Channel I look for these five things:

1.  I look for watermelons that are nicely shaped and ones that feel firm.  Make sure that they don’t have any cuts in them either.

2.  Pick your watermelon up to see if it feels “heavy”.  Watermelons are 90% water, so the riper ones will have more water and weigh more

3.  I look for watermelons that have a bright skin and vibrant green color

4.  I used to not pick a watermelon that has a yellow side but have since found out that this yellow spot is a good thing and should be creamy looking.  This is where it laid on the ground to ripen instead of being picked too early.

5.  When “thumping” your watermelon, a solid sound means it’s not ripe enough, if it’s too ripe, it will sound thick but if it sounds hollow, that’s the one you want!

Below is a picture of the coveted “yellow spot”!

Now that you’ve found your perfect watermelon, how do you cut it?

Here are two EASY ways to get a beautifully cut watermelon!

The first method comes from a pin that I pinned from Fifteen Spatulas.  First cut the bottoms off both ends of the watermelon:

Then stand it on one end:

Taking a knife, slice down and cut off the rind:

After removing all of the rind, cut into disks and then into strips and then into cubes:

Look how beautifully cubed the watermelon turned out!

Next up is a great way to cut watermelon if you have little bodies with little fingers as this takes out all the mess of eating sliced watermelon!   This great idea comes  from Mama Say What.  The above method of cutting does a better job with larger melons.  This next method works best for small to medium sized watermelons.

Cut your melon in half:

Lay the watermelon flat side down and cut into strips about 1 to 1/2 inches wide:

Then turn your watermelon and cut in the same size strips in the opposite direction:

What you will end up with are  watermelon “strips” perfect for just picking up and eating!

Well, I’d love to sit around and eat watermelon with you (NOT) but my favorite son is calling.

Change the way you cut a watermelon, because This Pin Rocks!

It’s a Par-tay with these great sites today!

The Recipe Critic  – Home Stories A to Z – ShareAtopia – A to Z Celebrations – Lady Bug Blessings – Chef in Training – Memories by the Mile – Nap Time Creations – Hun What’s for Dinner? – Cupcakes and  Crinoline – Sugar Bee Crafts – Mandy’s Recipe Box

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