I first came up with using Nilla Wafers to create my "people pops" when I introduced my Girl Scout Cookie Pops tutorial. Simple cookie pops made of Nilla Wafers sandwiched together with melted chocolate, decorated with sprinkle eyes and candy hair. I took the idea to the next level by adding a marshmallow in between the cookies with my Pilgrim Cookie Pops for Thanksgiving (which is optional but creates a delish s'mores inspired treat). When I was contacted by Family Fun magazine to create a "Dad" version of my cookie pops I was so excited to really take them to the next level! In this version I created different skin colors by coating the cookies in cocoa powder and added a FREE printable coloring page with a variety of Father's Day shirt templates to cut, color, and tape on to the stick to complete the look. The possibilities are endless, so get creative and create a customizable pop for your "Pop" this Father's Day!
Check out my "LollyPapas" idea in the
June/July 2012 issue of Family Fun Magazine! You can find my pops,
recreated by their real live test family, on the last page as the featured "Treat of the Month"! Always so exciting to see my name published along side my ideas... even if it is in the fine print ;)
I started off with a little inspiration... ;)
Customizable "Dad" Cookie Pops for Father's Day (LollyPapas)
You will need
- Vanilla wafer cookies
- Marshmallows
- Chocolate chips, melted
- lollipop sticks
- Soft candy, such as caramel chews, tootsie rolls, Starburst/fruit chews, gumdrops, etc. (hair/facial)
- White sequin confetti sprinkles (eyes)
- Black edible marker, or food coloring and a toothpick (mouth, nose, pupils)
- Markers/crayons/colored pencils for decorating FREE printable Father's Day shirts
- Tape to attach shirts to lollipop stick
- Ribbon and clear plastic bags for packaging, optional
Directions
First decide if you want to change the skin color of your faces. To create different skin colors use cinnamon or a blend of powdered sugar and cocoa powder to create different shades. Coat nilla wafer
cookies in the cocoa by shaking them in a sandwich bag (if cocoa is not
sticking, wipe a little bit of water or honey on the surface of the
cookie so cocoa can adhere more easily.
To assemble your pop, cut a marshmallow in half, width wise, and sandwich it between 2 nilla
wafers, using melted chocolate as a "glue".
Let chocolate set and dry (place in the refrigerator to speed up the process) and push lollipop stick through
bottom of marshmallow.
Create hair styles using your fingers (and
scissors if necessary) to mold tootsie rolls (brown), fruit chews or
gumdrops (yellow, orange), black licorice gummy bears (black),
spice drops or marshmallow pieces (white), caramel candies (dirty blonde). Create beards, mustaches and eyebrows by molding the
candy with your fingers.
Attach to the face by spreading some melted chocolate on to the face and gently pressing on your hair style. You can also use sprinkles for the eyebrows like I did on the white and yellow haired men if you have trouble creating such tiny pieces.
Using an edible ink marker (note, the Wilton brand FoodWriter pictured does not work as well as AmeriColor edible ink pens, especially when trying to draw on faces that are coated in cocoa powder), draw pupils on to small white confetti sprinkles.
Attach the eyes with melted chocolate (or a dab of corn syrup if you do not want the
melted chocolate to show through).
Using your edible ink marker, draw on a nose, mouth, and any other features (glasses, whiskers, a mole, etc.)
And there you have your customized pop for "Pop"!
Here's a side view of the s'mores inspired treat.
To really take these little guys to a whole new level, I created a coloring page
template of a variety of Father's Day themed shirts. You can fill in the shirts on your computer using a "paint" program or print in black and white and color your own unique shirt design. This is a great activity for kids to be able to design and color their own shirt for
dad!
Once you have printed your template, color your shirt and cut it out along with the mounting strip next to it.
Note: The mounting strips are optional and just help make the shirt pop out a little more away from the stick so the shirt will rest just below the face. You can alternatively just tape the shirt to the stick without the mounting strip. If you are not using the marshmallow in your pop, you do not need the mounting strip.
Poke your lollipop stick through the holes in the mounting strip and push it up to the top to create a C
shape with the paper, as shown below. This will make the shirt pop out to look 3D and hang just below the face. Attach a piece of tape or glue to the paper mounting strip.
Attach the shirt by pressing it to the tape on the mounting strip. Slide the shirt up or down to position it just under the face.
You can also individually wrap your pops in clear plastic bags for gift givingg, or you can create a display for
your pops if you are making multiple pops for a party or a family of pops. To create a display that your pops can stand upright in,
take a block of Styrofoam and wrap it in festive wrapping paper or
tissue paper. Push the bottom of each stick into the styrofoam to easily grab and enjoy.
