Safari Giraffe Jars

Safari Giraffe Jars!  Giraffe Cookies!  Well, kinda giraffe cookies.  I had time to make these cute animal jars but not time to go my usual crazy pants self for the cookies.   Why not?  Because these were for Pam's bachelorette party last weekend and I was too busy crafting all the things to cut out tiny giraffe cookies like I had originally planned.  But they are color coordinated and let's face it -- adorable.  So all is well.

I made two batches of shortbread cookies; one chocolate chip and one orange almond.  (Recipes below)

And then I alternated cookies as I stuffed them in these decorated giraffe jars. 

To make jars like these you will need:

1. Clean Mason Jars

2. Stickers/Label for the front (Michael's)

3. Giraffe ribbon (Etsy)

4. Giraffe Charms (Etsy)

5. Plain Cupcake Liners (Michael's)

6. Hot Glue Gun

General Assembly Instructions:

1. Hot glue the ribbon around the side of the lid.  (I found it easiest to tie the ribbon in a bow and then attach it to the lid separately.)

2. Fill jar with yummy cookies.

3. Place the top lid over the jar, and then cover it with cupcake liners.  Screw on the side lid over the liner.

4. Hot glue charm on top of the liner.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

I followed this recipe, but omitted the orange zest and juice and added 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips instead. 

Almond Orange Cookies

I followed this recipe, but added two small drops of orange food coloring instead.  Not enough to make them bright orange, just enough to make them more giraffe colored.  =)

Both recipes and flavors worked well together.  

But wait why was I making giraffe jars for a bachelorette party?  Because we went on a Safari, duh.   Pammy isn't big on the traditional Vegas-esque, drinking clubbing bachelorette parties and neither am I.  She's getting married at the zoo in September, so a Safari made sense.   And she's also going through a giraffe phase.  After all of this prep work  it kind of made me into a fan too! 

For the record the Safari was not in Africa. HAHA.  It was in Santa Rosa (Northern California) at Safari West.  Hopefully the bride to be had fun!  There were a bunch of animals to look at, we went glamour camping and took a "winos and rhinos" tour.  We dressed in animal print pith helmets and animal shirts.  Oh and I also made her wear a zebra veil that was attached to one of the hats because what on earth could she possible wear that day? You can see more pictures of the adventure on Pam's blog here.  

Aaaaand now it is time to plan Bachelor Party #2.  The life of a Maid of Honor is hard.  

xoxo,

Anna 

Rabbit Food: Carrot Cupcakes In A Jar

I am having rabbit issues this week.  During Christmas, if you follow me in Instagram, you will remember that I was OBSESSED with gingerbread men.  And then with foxes on my clothes.  This season it's bunnies.   It started when I found these little Easter rabbit figurines (jax!) at Walmart.  I had been wanting to make cupcakes in a jar for months and thought they'd work well for some special Easter treats.  DIY, cute packaging, spray paint?  Right up my alley.

I spray painted the seals white and the rims baby blue and glued the bunnies on top.  I used smaller mason jars, the half pint glass ones.  It took a few days to let the paint dry but it was a fun project! Purple or green would have been cute too.

What kind of cupcakes did I bake?  Well my new motto is "eat like an Easter rabbit"!  So I did. They're carrot cake cupcakes of course. Rabbits may eat carrots, but Easter Rabbits eat sugar, for sure.  I used the same recipe last year, and still can't be happier with the taste and texture. Love the pineapple and the walnuts in the batter.  You can go here to see the recipe.

The frosting I changed up slightly, it's still pineapple cream cheese frosting but I used  2 tablespoons of pineapple-apricot preserves instead of pineapple juice.  Either will work, but I liked the stronger flavor that came through by using the preserves.

Jar Assembly

1. Bake as directed, let cool completely & cut in half, horizontally.
*If you don't wait for them to cool they will fog up your little mason jars.  Be patient.
2. Layer them into the jars: Cake, frosting, cake, frosting, cake frosting.
*You can either fit one or one and half cupcakes inside one half pint jar, depending on how generously you frost.
* I used a 1M tip and moved the jar as I squeezed.  My tip to you is NOT to frost against the glass, but about 1/2 an inch away from it to keep it clean and pretty.  When you put the cake on top, press down slightly and it will move the frosting to the edge.
3. Before you place a cap over them, add additional garnish to the top of the jars.

I tied them off with white and gold baker's twine and included those little wooden ice cream spoons.

  What child, or adult would not love getting one of these?  Best part it that you can keep the jar once the cupcake has been eaten, and save it to store something else.  That's a gift that keeps on giving right there.

This bunny is just TOO cute.  I can't get enough of him.  Or his little wooden spoon.

Happy almost Easter guys!  You will get one more Bunny post out of me this week, so stay tuned!

xoxo,
Anna